*YCLSA Free State Press Statement* February 19, 2014
*YCLSA FREE STATE STATEMENT ON THE STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS BY PREMIER ACE MAGASHULE* The Young Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA) in Free State wishes to once more take this opportunity to express its expectations on the upcoming State of the Province Address (SOPA) to be delivered by Honourable Premier Ace Magashule on Friday 21 February 2014 at the Vista Arena, Bloemfontein. Accordingly, we anticipate that the Premier will reflect on the successes of government since the advent of democracy and in particular, from the last five years. Though we expect the Premier to address various issues that affect the people of the Free State, we believe the following should be prioritised in his SOPA; *1) **Education* Much applaud has been given to the MEC for Education and Free State government for their sterling performance in last year's 87.4% matric pass-rate. What the YCLSA in Free State now expects is a bold message from SOPA that instructs all parents, teachers and the MEC to ensure that this pass-rate is sustained at an upward trend. We also expect the Premier to indicate the intentions of his administration in terms of allocating more resources to basic education and higher education in the province. The YCLSA in Free State envisages a situation where public higher education in the province is accessible to all. Because we are essentially an agricultural province, it would only be fair if the Premier's SOPA also touches on how far is government in producing and recruiting agricultural scientists and agronomist through our tertiary institutions for the economical benefit of the Free State. The Glen Agricultural College must receive the necessary support from government so that it becomes more capacitated and produces at least 1000 or more graduates annually. The YCLSA also advocates that; as part of the basic education curriculum, learners at pre-tertiary institutions must be compelled to do their driver's licences before completing their grade 12. This will help in building a developmental state. *2) **Health* The YCLSA Free State is the only youth organisation in the province with a clear programme of action on health. Our health campaign has exposed to a variety of challenges the public health sector is facing. These include understaffed health facilities, shortage of drugs and medicines, shortage of equipment, shortage of beds and linen etc. We are partly pleased by the MEC's actions against some of these challenges. SOPA must provide us with a clear solution of how government, working together with business and NGOs, will address these. We also anticipate a latest report on developments relating to the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI). *3) **Jobs for Youth* The YCLSA in Free State demands jobs and employment opportunities to be given to younger citizens of the province. We still believe corporatives can also address the question of youth unemployment. We reiterate our call for the total termination of the tender system which perpetuates crimes such as fraud and laundering. It is also high time the work of the Free State Development Corporation is assessed and we must push for more young people to tap into the economy of property ownership. The plight of domestic workers who are deprived their UIF benefits by employers who do not comply with labour regulations is also a matter of concern to us as the YCLSA in Free State. The department of labour must also intervene in this regard. As the YCLSA, we are also ready to assist in the formation of Career Centres in the province that will be of great benefit to young people. *ISSUED BY YCLSA FREE STATE* *For more contact:* Fezile Sonkwane YCLSA Free State Spokesperson 079 991 4618 -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
