Deputy President Paul Mashatile has urged the youth to adopt the same attitude as Hector Peterson and that of the youth of 1976.
Speaking during the 2024 Youth Day celebrations at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Limpopo, Mashatile says the youth of 1976 paved the way for following generations.
“Peter Ramoswane the lion of the north – known for his role for his leading role in the struggle of the youth against apartheid today we remember and salute him for the liberation of our country. These youth were willing to lose their lives against racism. The uprising in 1976 was a powerful statement and a brave act to fight against the system that would destroy their dreams this should serve as a great inspiration for all the youth of our country.”
The theme of the 2024 Youth Day celebrations is “Actively embracing the socio-economic gains of our democracy.”
Livestream: Youth Day commemoration
‘Resilient’
Meanwhile, Limpopo’s first female Premier Phophi Ramathuba has encouraged the youth to be resilient and fight for their rights and what they believe.
Premier Ramathuba says young people can learn from the youth of 1976 and use the knowledge in the present.
“Growing up as a young girl in the dusty streets of Hamashaba and going to university, I can tell you that nothing is impossible and especially for the youth of Limpopo and you young people who are here should learn from us. As we mark the 48th anniversary, we are marking 30 years of our freedom, we actively embrace the socio-economic of our frees we must call in memory of our leader Peter Mokana born in Mankweng who dedicated his life to this freedom and his contribution to a democratic South Africa.”
Skills training
Deputy Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture, Nocawe Mafu says the department is prioritising skills training to ensure that there is socio-economic growth among the youth. She was also speaking at the old Peter Mokaba Stadium.
“One of the things that we are committed to doing is creating jobs and we want to be able to train youth, most of them do not have the skills to be employable, they still need skills to be in the job market. We have EPWP learnerships, we want to make sure that we are able to assist them to make sure that they are employed, and we cannot make a difference to the employability as long as the young are not employed, and we are dealing with that issue to help young people to have skills.”
1976 Soweto student uprising commemorated
Freedom Park held its annual event reflecting on the 1976 June 16 events in Pretoria.
