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Today, as I woke up, I was confronted with the familiar swirl of political hype discussions about repositioning, visibility, and movement within leadership and political spaces.
This is what dominates public conversation. And I can’t help but ask: what does this signal to the thousands of young South Africans still waiting for access, for opportunity, and for a place within the very systems meant to support them?
I am deeply frustrated and disappointed.
I grew up in Cape Flats (Khayelitsha) and worked hard to build myself academically and professionally.
Yet, despite years of preparation, meaningful inclusion in decision making spaces remains limited for many young people across SA.
This struggle is not only my own.
It affects a generation of young South Africans qualified and unqualified, unemployed and employed, young people with disabilities, and those simply waiting for a fair chance.
Young people are asking for something simple: access to opportunity, inclusion in decision-making, and real pathways into systems that shape our lives.
Yet too often, these doors remain closed.
In sectors like agriculture, where youth participation could drive innovation and strengthen food security, meaningful entry points are scarce.
Systems meant to support youth too often exclude them, leaving young people to navigate barriers alone.
Meanwhile, public attention is consumed by political movement, repositioning, and the visibility of a few individuals in leadership.
While this is part of democracy, it raises an uncomfortable question: what does it mean when the realities and needs of the majority of young people are sidelined?
This is not about individual actors. It is about priorities. It is about the message we send to a generation watching and waiting.
SA has no shortage of talent, ambition, or potential among its youth.
What is missing is consistent access, meaningful inclusion, and systems designed to absorb, not exclude.
So I ask again: how many more young people must remain outside the spaces where decisions about their futures are made before youth inclusion becomes a reality, not just a principle?
To our leadership and decision-makers: your focus must return to the young people of SA, the real changemakers often unseen and unheard.
These are the young people already doing the work in communities, in studies, in agriculture, and in informal spaces.
They are capable, committed, and ready to contribute, yet they are still waiting for the opportunity and support they deserve.
These are the young people in townships, on the Cape Flats, in rural areas, and across urban communities not part of the noise, but the foundation of our country’s future.
While the noise around political repositioning continues, the real work goes on: ploughing the land, building communities, learning, teaching, and pushing forward without expectation of titles or recognition.
Youth Month is not just a moment of celebration.
It is a call to action.
It is time to turn attention into inclusion, opportunity, and real support for the generation that will shape SA’s future.
Thulani Dasa, Khayelitsha