Johannesburg - Young people have a role to play in building a legacy to be proud of, and burning buildings and torching schools cannot be that, Minister of Small Business Development Lindiwe Zulu said.
The youth had a responsibility to ensure the development of the country, in much the same way the generation of 1976 had, she added.
“Where is your '76,” she asked a gathering of young people and other interested parties at a discussion on the youth’s place in realising the African Union Agenda 2063.
Young people who had been part of the liberation movement and Struggle today looked back with pride on the achievements of the country, Zulu said.
“Is your ‘76 burning schools, libraries and science labs? I don’t think so,” she said.
The young people of 1976 had done their bit across the country, over the years and with many different activities.
“Some went into exile and learnt to become combatants while a few, like myself, had the chance to get an education,” she said.
But even she, who studied and had a qualification under her belt, had not shied away from hard work. “We look back and see the results in the developments over the years.”
They had known that liberation would come, and while they had no date at hand, they fought on.
Zulu was the guest speaker at the South African Association of Public Administration and Management discussion on ‘Positioning young people for the realisation of AU’.
The Star