RAMAPHOSA HOPES GOVT'S EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVES HELP REDUCE DEPRESSION AMONG YOUTH

The president said that he was aware that the lack of job opportunities among the youth also had a psychological impact.

President Cyril Ramaphosa visited St John's College in the Eastern Cape as part of government's Youth Day celebrations. Picture: @PresidencyZA/Twitter

Nokukhanya Mntambo

JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa said that he hoped that government’s initiatives to create youth employment would help reduce cases of depression among young people.

He made the comments at the Youth Day commemoration event in the Eastern Cape on Thursday, on the back of record-high unemployment rates.

The Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the first quarter of 2022 recorded a 63.9% unemployment rate for those aged between 15 and 24 and 42.1% unemployment for those aged 25 to 34 years.

The number of discouraged youth is also to be on the rise.

Ramaphosa believes the availability of entrepreneurship opportunities could help lessen the burden.

President Ramaphosa has again thrown his weight behind calls to explore self-employment as an alternative for discouraged jobseekers among the youth.

He told attendees in Mthatha that the presidential initiatives aimed at stimulating youth employment were centred on self-sustenance.

Ramaphosa said that this was in line with this year’s youth day theme of promoting sustainable livelihood and resilience of young people for a better tomorrow.

The president said that he was aware that the lack of job opportunities among the youth also had a psychological impact.

"We're deeply concerned about the number of young people falling into depression and at times taking their own lives when certain aspects of their lives do not go well," Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa has also called for compassion among peers, hitting out as the rise of incidents of bullying in society.