Staff reporter
Bloemfontein – The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in Free State will march to Office of the Premier, Joyce “Pretenders” Mathae over high rate of unemployment as government fail to deliver promised 50 000 jobs for the youth.
This will be the second march against Mathae in less than a year in office.
In September 2024, about 1200 Covid-19 contract workers took to the streets after their contracts were not renewed, and about 150 employees in the Office of The Premier were also shown the door.
The march is set to start from Kaizer Sebothelo House at 09h00, on the 30 June 2025.
In a statement, the party said it will not celebrate hollow victories.
“This year, the ANC Youth League has taken a conscious decision to commemorate Youth Month in protest. We refuse to celebrate hollow victories while our generation is being sacrificed on the altar of budget cuts, austerity, and economic exclusion. We will honour the 1976 generation not with platitudes, but with action — action against the continued suffocation of young people.
After studying the 2025 State of the Province Address (SOPA) and the R45.8 billion 2025/26 Provincial Budget, it is clear that the Free State government is not taking youth unemployment seriously. What we are witnessing is not merely an oversight — it is a political choice. The Free State’s entire budget planning remains anchored in neo-liberal policy frameworks that have failed and continue to fail the poor and the working class, especially the youth.”
Furthermore, the youth league said its a shame that Free State holds thd highest youth unemployment rate.
“Today, the Free State holds the shameful and unacceptable title of having the highest youth unemployment rate in the country, even exceeding the national average. More than 442,000 young people aged 15–34 are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET). This is not just a statistic. It is a mass grave of dreams.”
We call upon all sectors of the youth in the Free State — students, graduates, jobseekers (including discouraged jobseekers), unemployed artisans, hustlers, township entrepreneurs, rural youth, creatives, and athletes — to join us.”
In 2023, just after the controversial provincial conference held at Imvelo Lodge, Polediso “50 000 Jobs For The Youth” Motsoeneneng asked Head of departments and Municipal Managers to create 50 000 jobs for the youth.
Will Motsoeneneng join the march? He marched to Luthuli House and State Capture Commission against Ace Magashule.
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