Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has called on the youth to register their disapproval of the African National Congress-led government by taking to the polls in the highly anticipated 2024 general elections.
This comes as opposition parties rally young people in a bid to unseat the ANC from power.
Steenhuisen made the call during Friday’s youth day commemoration in the Eastern Cape.
But the DA said voter apathy in the previous national elections remains a major concern – with voter turnout dropping from 86% in 1994 to 66% in 2019.
Steenhuisen said the high unemployment rate, rampant corruption, and poor service delivery need to be top-of-mind for young voters next year.
“It doesn’t have to be like that, and this is the message I want to send to the youth across South Africa today. It doesn’t have to be like this. It can be different. You can have a government that’s working for you and not the other way around. You can have a government that is invested in schools so that its children can read and write and be prepared for the economy to ensure that they can find work, that you can have police deployed to the streets to keep you safe, that you can have a government that’s serious about getting work.”
In today’s ANC governed South Africa:
81% of 10-year-old children cannot read for meaning
7 out of every 10 young people are unemployed
33 million people live in poverty
Register to vote on https://t.co/nzslFl8MHA and vote for change in 2024 #PowerToTheRegistered pic.twitter.com/WCO4fuESoo
— John Steenhuisen MP (@jsteenhuisen) June 16, 2023
-EWN
In other news – Sangoma Warns Gogo Maweni: WATCH
Gogo Maweni gets warned by a Sangoma from KZN. In a video that surfaced on social media, the sangoma calls her out to stop her evil practice.
The traditional healer says she is been practicing for over two decades, but she’s irked by how Maweni has portrayed the calling, especially through her reality TV show. “You seem to be proud of being capable of taking a life. Learn More
