Open letter to the President from a Disillusioned Youth

The author argues that the South African government has neglected urban land reform in favor of agricultural land distribution, leaving urban youth and the poor in precarious informal settlements. The letter calls for the adoption of an urban land policy and the signing of the Expropriation Bill to unlock idle land and provide secure housing and economic opportunities for the youth.

• The author contends that the 2023 State of the Nation Address failed to address the land reform crisis, which contributes to high youth unemployment and the proliferation of informal settlements in urban and peri-urban areas.
• Government land reform efforts have focused primarily on agricultural land, ignoring the 'land hunger' in urban areas where 67% of the population lives and 44.2% fall below the Upper Bound Poverty Line.
• In the Ekurhuleni Municipality, land shortages force residents into dangerous locations, including mine dumps and riverbanks, leaving them vulnerable to sinkholes and climatic events like floods.
• The author advocates for the signing of the Expropriation Bill and the establishment of an urban land policy to reclaim idle state land, abandoned factories, and land tied up in long-term nominal leases to private entities.

APA

Hlatshwayo, J. (2023). Open letter to the President from a Disillusioned Youth. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/intern-open-letter-to-the-president-from-a-disillusioned-youth/

Chicago

Hlatshwayo, Jabu. Open letter to the President from a Disillusioned Youth. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2023. https://pari.org.za/intern-open-letter-to-the-president-from-a-disillusioned-youth/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Hlatshwayo |first1=Jabu |title=Open letter to the President from a Disillusioned Youth |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=30 June 2023 |url=https://pari.org.za/intern-open-letter-to-the-president-from-a-disillusioned-youth/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{hlatshwayo2023open, author = {Hlatshwayo, Jabu}, title = {{Open letter to the President from a Disillusioned Youth}}, publisher = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://pari.org.za/intern-open-letter-to-the-president-from-a-disillusioned-youth/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }