T - Department of Defence

S A S O L D I E Rfocus on youthThe DOD clarifies the NationalRural Youth Service CorpsThe aim is to developand impart skills amongyouth in rural areas whowill provide communityservice in various ways.By Cpl Ally RakomaPhoto: Sgt Elias MahumaThe Spokesperson for theMinister of Defence andMilitary Veterans, MrNdivhuwo Mabaya, met withrepresentatives of AfriForumYouth and the media to clarifyrecruitment issues regardingthe National Rural Youth Service CorpsProgramme at Defence Headquarters inPretoria on 3 May 2011.Mr Mabaya mentioned that improvingthe lives of rural communities remainedhigh on the Government's agenda asunemployment and lack of employmentopportunities, continued to be amajor challenge facing rural communitiesparticularly the youth. He said thatthe Department of Rural Developmentand Land Reform had embarked on aprogramme known as the NationalRural Youth Service Corps to uplift therural youth by providing opportunitiesthat would enable them to be employablethrough skills development.He said: "The National Rural YouthService Corps is an initiative of theDepartment of Rural Development andLand Reform, its aim being to developand impart skills among youth between18 and 35 years in rural areas who willprovide community service in variousways. Job creation is a critical compo-Mr Ndivhuwo Mabaya, Spokesperson for the Minister of Defenceand Military Veterans (right) clarifies concerns over the NationalRural Youth Service Corps to Mr Charl Oberholzer, theChairperson of AfriForum Youth.nent; they will receive training for technicalcareers, e.g. as bricklayers, plumbers,carpenters, roofers, welders, electriciansand farmers."Mr Mabaya mentioned that the DOD asa responsive and responsible organ ofGovernment worked together with othertiers of Government (national, provincialand local), parastatals, the council ofstakeholders and civil society in a participatoryapproach to ensure sustainablelivelihood for the youth by transformingthem from being job seekers to being jobcreators with a view to breaking the cycleof poverty.He continued: "As the DOD we have animpact on the lives of the South Africanyouth as the agents of change. Somerural areas remain extremely disadvantagedand underdeveloped economicallyand socially. Since the inception of theNational Rural Youth Service CorpsProgramme, the DOD has embarked ona journey to pave the way for youthdevelopment, for example the 500youths from the country's provinceswho were recruited by the Departmentof Rural Development and Land Reformseconded to the DOD for a seven-weekfoundational phase of pilot training inmulti-disciplinary skills, for example lifeskills, mentoring, self-discipline, etiquette,caring for others, self-control,respect, civic education, civic participation(voluntarism) and patriotism."Mr Mabaya added that the other focusof the programme was the creation of anenabling environment to train the youththrough Further Education and TrainingProgrammes linked to identified developmentalcommunity projects to supportrural development and investmentsin infrastructure programmes to bridgethe poverty gap and increase employmentintensive growth.34• J U N E 2 0 1 1