ANC Youth League wants government to change land programme to avoid creating ‘rural elite’:
With a number of ANC Youth League leaders contesting for the positions at its upcoming conference, a familiar face, Chrispin Phiri, has opted not to throw his hat into the ring so that he can focus on building the youth structure from within its national executive committee (NEC).
Phiri, who is the spokesperson for Justice Minister Ronald Lamola, himself a former youth league leader, is regarded as a firebrand. Last year, Phiri took on high ranking leaders in the ANC, including presidential contender Lindiwe Sisulu, Tony Yengeni and former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.
As one of the youth league members who crafted its discussion document, Phiri said they took time debating some of the key economic policies, including land redistribution.
The primary focus of the discussion papers was on new sources of cheap energy and energy sustainability for the future, he added.
In its document — which will be discussed and adopted at its conference this coming weekend — the youth league supports the development of nuclear energy, identifying it as a source of stable and reliable energy critical to advancing industrial development. The league regards nuclear power as environmentally friendly.
It says it will take a more radical approach to the land question, calling for expropriation without compensation. The reason for this, the document argues, is not solely to overcome land hunger, but as crucial for economic growth.
The youth structure says it is interested in transformation that overcomes
the alienation of wage-workers, peasants and landless rural and urban dwellers under a
predatory form of capitalism.
Phiri said the league had attempted to reevaluate the efficacy of South Africa’s land policy.
“We don’t hold back. We say there are a lot of things that could be done better. But it’s also a criticism of the current approach, particularly the fact that we feel that the current approach to land restitution encourages the neo pseudo system,” he said.
“What we mean by that, essentially [is that] we’ve created these rural elites who dictate what happens with the land, and the land is still not in the hands of the people, truly. In some instances, it’s in the hands of a particular trust or a community association which then has an impact on how people access the land.”
Phiri said although there are instances where land has been handed over to people with little productivity, the state needs to look at a new way of addressing the land question.
One of the biggest land trusts, the Ingonyama Trust, has been a topic of debate in the ANC, with some party members calling for it to be dissolved. Last year, the ANC’s integrity committee found that the Ingonyama Trust Act and similar pieces of legislation undermined the tenure rights of rural South Africans.
The trust controls almost three million hectares of land on behalf of the Zulu monarchy in terms of the Act, passed on the eve of democracy to secure the participation of the Inkatha in the 1994 elections.
The Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB) is funded by the department of agriculture, land reform and rural development, under whose oversight it falls.
Phiri said young people needed to play a more integrated role in the land and economic system. “We fundamentally believe that the economic system is triggered primarily by land ownership, but also not just from an economic point of view, even from how people live.”
He said part of a reimagined youth league would be centred on local level programmes.
The league’s constitutional amendment team has recommended that it establish political cells to broaden the range and efficiency of the structure. The cells will consist of 15 members from diverse backgrounds who represent various spheres in society, including professions, social clubs, religious and cultural groups, and higher education institutions. This is meant to entice more young people to join the league and augment its organisational capabilities, it said.
“I think what we are looking at now and what we should be concerned about is that we have this organisation, it has an incredible legacy, which really spans back more than six decades, seven decades, how do we preserve that legacy?” Phiri said. “But, more importantly, how do we future proof it so that it’s even more relevant in the future? And I think as we speak now, that is the extent of the question that the ANCYL is confronted with.”
Phiri, who has been lobbied to lead at NEC level in the youth league, has endorsed Collen Malatji as his preferred candidate for its president. Malatji is expected to go up against Zuko Godlimpi and Aphiwe Mkhangelwa.
Although Phiri is not standingfor a top six position, he said he believed he would still contribute to the structure’s leadership.
“We all play our different roles in the organisation, ultimately to influence the thinking of this organisation. Yes, the ANCYL does need to be broadly representative of very, very different people, different types of youth in the country.
“That is the only way that we can claim to be a proper representative of young people. That’s the only way you can truly influence young people, if a lot of young people see themselves in us.
He said they would rebuild the league “to ensure that we hand over an organisation that represents the future”.
Education needs to prepare youngsters holistically for the future:
COMMENT
Many things can be true at once. In recent years, the antithesis of this statement has taken over people and politics alike. It seems that as the challenges in our country become more visible and deepen, our nation — and the world at large — becomes more polarised — this or that, never both, with little room for nuance. I want to challenge us to step out of our comfort zones and into an arena that is more grey. Here, many things can be true at once.
Yes, we are facing a national reading crisis that needs ambitious and pointed redress. The latest Progress in International Reading Literacy Study results show that 81% of grade four learners cannot read for meaning. This certainly is cause for alarm. Learners who cannot read will probably have less capacity to learn, resulting in fewer passing matric with results that will help them get into tertiary education or employment (if at all).
But, at the same time, we also need our education system to be developing learners with a holistic breadth of skills, beyond literacy and numeracy. I know this might seem ambitious or even deluded — how can we talk beyond literacy and numeracy when we don’t even have that right? And this is where I urge you to step into that grey arena — a space where all the multitudes of the complex education system can be held at the same time.
Yes, we need urgent focus on improving the literacy outcomes of our learners but we also need to invest in developing holistic learners who are prepared for an ever-changing world. If we don’t, we run the risk of our learners being left behind.
As the world around us moves faster than ever before, we hold the responsibility to “prepare students for jobs that have not yet been created, to tackle societal challenges that we cannot yet imagine and to use technologies that have not yet been invented”. This means supporting all aspects of their development — physically, socially, emotionally and academically. Practically, this means embedding skills like adaptability, problem solving, creativity, resilience and communication from the taught curriculum into the classroom so that children can learn to thrive and reach their full potential in ever-evolving societies and workforces.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) lists these skills, as well as critical thinking, innovation, leadership and technology use, as some of the most coveted for the future of work.
It doesn’t have to be a trade-off. Research shows that investing in holistic skills development reinforces literacy, numeracy and academic outcomes. Decades of research in psychology, social science, neuroscience and behavioural science illustrates the intertwined nature of academic and social-emotional functions.
Evidence shows that a breadth of skills, such as self-regulation, awareness and resilience, are prerequisites for learning skills such as literacy and numeracy. A recent OECD study on Social and Emotional Skills (2020) showed that learners’ social and emotional skills are key predictors of school marks across subjects, contexts, geographies and age cohorts. Skills such as persistence and curiosity were most strongly related to higher academic performance.
Studies coming out of Ethiopia and Belize reiterate these findings and highlight that when students are exposed to holistic teaching methods and skills, they excel academically in comparison to those who are not.
Beyond academic achievement, a growing body of evidence emphasises that adopting holistic approaches not only equips children to better meet the challenges and opportunities they face at home, school and in the world at large, but also holds transformative power. Prioritising a breadth of skills in education systems has the potential to unlock lasting change — for children, society and the economy.
As we commemorate Youth Month, the need for a transformed society and economy is apparent. In its latest report, Statistics South Africa states that the “youth remain vulnerable” as the unemployment rate reaches a record high of 62.1% for those aged 15 to 24 and a staggering 3.7 million young people (out of 10.2 million) were recorded as not in employment, education or training.
With only 19 out of 100 young learners being able to read for meaning, and millions of young people between the ages of 18 and 34 unemployed, we are in the midst of a youth crisis. What is also clear is that the socio-economic effects of these realities are far reaching. South Africa is already the most unequal country in the world; more than half of our population live in poverty.
Young people are the beating heart of our country and the future of our nation. Education remains a key determinant for their future success — including earning capacity, future employment and overall well-being. Investing in our education system, course correcting and imbuing the youth with a breadth of holistic skills — and, of course, fluent and comprehensive literacy and numeracy skills — is key to ensuring that young South Africans leave school with the skills, competencies and values that will set them up for future employability and entrepreneurship.
But beyond just the economic value-add, we should be working towards cultivating a society where the youth are empowered to tackle our nation’s challenges — climate change and social cohesion, among many others.
It seems that the government shares the same understanding and is taking a step in the right direction. The Department of Basic Education is exploring strengthening the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement programme, with the intention to reinforce competencies for a changing world in the curriculum, and work with teachers to update teaching, learning and assessment practices.
As the education ecosystem evolves, four considerations are pivotal to the realisation of these ambitious plans: 1. There needs to be deliberate and sustained focus on implementation, if adjustments to policy are to be meaningfully realised. 2. The wealth of learning from previous education reforms should guide any efforts to strengthen the current system. 3. Adequate resources (human and financial) should be allocated to implement any proposed plans. 4. Actors across civil society, the private sector and the government need to collaborate and forge a joint way forward. Only then will we begin to see tangible changes in classrooms and improved quality of education for all of South Africa’s children.
In the face of complex challenges, multiple realities can be true at once. Poverty, inequality and youth unemployment are the simultaneous lived reality for most of our population. To address these issues, we need to step out of the false dichotomy that is so easy to fall into and instead begin to face the complexities of change from all angles. Because there is no one silver bullet to help us achieve the goals set out in the National Development Plan but rather many that can (and should) be explored at once.
Shahana Bhabha represents the Education Advocacy team, Save the Children South Africa.
Digital convergence: The secret to transformational success:
‘The critical factors that shape the success or failure of digital transformation aren’t secrets, they’re people.’ — Dr Karen Luyt, Senior Specialist: Digital Transformation, BCX
Digital transformation fails. In fact, it fails slightly too often for comfort. McKinsey says 70% of transformations fail. BCG says only 30% of companies get it right. KPMG puts the percentage of failure at 73%. Considering how beneficial digital transformation can be to the business and its bottom line, it’s time to turn the percentage on its head; to take the 70% of failures and turn them into a 70% success rate, and the way to do this is through people.
Leadership is perhaps one of the most important success factors in any digital transformation strategy. Decision-makers and leaders need to know exactly why the business is undertaking specific digital transformation initiatives, and have a clear vision of the digital journey. What do they want to achieve? Why do they want to achieve it? They need to converge their understanding of digital with the realities of the business to ensure that the technology is strategic and relevant.
Even though digital transformation (DX) has been around for more than 10 years, the technology around it is changing at such a rapid rate that many companies are still trying to keep up. Legacy technology remains firmly in place as leadership pedals at speed to keep up with the next innovation or relevant aspect of digital transformation. Those who fell behind with DX were forced to catch up in 2020, and since then they’ve been on a pedal-boat down a waterfall as they’ve had to plug holes, fill gaps, and meet changing market and employee expectations.
Moving forward, leaders need to understand how to take the two concepts of digital and transformation and wed them to the true hiccups in the business. Digital is about making the business more digital, about implementing automated workflows, Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital paper trails and improved processes. Transformation is about taking the digital beyond optimisation and efficiency and into the realm of radical changes to work, business and service models and offerings. It is a combination of two factors that create explosive value if visualised clearly by leadership and used effectively by employees.
The second challenge that often inhibits the success of DX is the expectation that it’s a one-stop solution. It isn’t. It’s an iterative approach that’s more about the journey than anything else. There are maturity levels associated with this journey that start at the digitisation of information — shifting from analogue and physical to digital formats — through to the digitalisation of processes and ways of work within the business. Each organisation will be at a specific point in the journey, which means that any DX approach must be uniquely crafted to this point: it is not a one-size-fits-all, it’s a pragmatic and strategic approach that’s customised and curated to slip seamlessly into the organisation.
People are going to make the technology work. So yes, leaders set the tone and lead by example by using the technology and being visible in the project, and they need to set the vision for DX in such a way that everyone can read the room. It’s here, it’s yours to use, and it’s powerful. Then, it is critical that the people using the technology in offices, coffee shops and homes are given the support and tools they need to make it work. They need to be ready, and if they’re not ready, there has to be awareness and training throughout every initiative. When people buy into the digitisation of systems, then they will be the fuel that ensures the engine keeps driving and that the enterprise enjoys the journey.
By prioritising people and the journey towards a clearly defined goal, DX becomes far easier to implement and far more sustainable. This commitment to putting people at the heart of the strategy while creating the vision that ensures it is the right strategy turns the DX statistics on their head. From 70% failure to 80% success, it’s about vision, people — and finding the right road.
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