Report of the Civil Society APRM Youth Submission Validation Workshop

The workshop served as a platform for youth working groups to validate a report on governance in South Africa, covering themes from institutional planning and political participation to climate change and economic empowerment. Government and APRM representatives emphasized the importance of integrating youth voices into the national review process, particularly given high youth unemployment rates. The working groups identified systemic failures in policy implementation, a lack of youth representation in political parties, and the need for a 'green, intersectional and just' future to address climate change and its compounding effects on other social issues.

• The Institutional Planning working group found that while the South African government has developed necessary institutional plans, the primary failure lies in implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and consequence management. They also noted that political deployment in institutional representation often leads to inadequate capacity and biased mandates, and highlighted the vulnerability caused by the emigration of highly skilled young South Africans.
• Youth political participation is critically low despite youth making up 60% of the population. The Political Participation working group noted that youth account for only 10% of members within political parties and criticized the use of 'pseudo solutions' and tokenism in parliament, recommending the implementation of quotas for gender and youth representation.
• The Health and Social Services working group identified the failure to restore economic equality for the black populace as a barrier to quality healthcare. They also warned that digitalisation and the COVID-19 pandemic would adversely affect the disadvantaged's access to social protection and grant payments, calling for both short-term economic relief and long-term income flexibility.
• Land and housing issues are rooted in pre-1994 policies designed to stifle the black majority. The Land and Housing working group emphasized the need for land redistribution, reform, and restitution, noting that poor implementation of land reform has disproportionately impacted women and that informal settlements need better integration into the national service grid.
• Youth are currently treated as passive consumers rather than active stakeholders in the economy. The Economic Empowerment working group stated that existing initiatives, such as the Youth Environmental Service project, have failed to produce tangible change and that young people remain under-represented in business and government occupations.
• Social cohesion is hindered by unregulated religious behavior leading to fraud, xenophobic attitudes stemming from misapprehensions about migration, and a gap between the constitutional rights and lived experiences of LGBTQ+ members.
• The education system suffers from a lack of central coordination and severe underfunding of early childhood education, which receives only 1% to 2% of the budget. Additionally, only 59% of schools meet minimum infrastructural standards, and the COVID-19 pandemic has widened the digital divide.
• The Climate Change working group argued that climate change exacerbates other governance issues, including health, housing, and economic development. They advocated for a 'green, intersectional and just' future, recommending that climate change be included in school curricula and that public participation from youth and local communities be mandated in policy implementation.

APA

Simelane, N. (2021). Report of the Civil Society APRM Youth Submission Validation Workshop. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAPS-Report_24Feb2021.pdf

Chicago

Simelane, Nkanyiso. Report of the Civil Society APRM Youth Submission Validation Workshop. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2021. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAPS-Report_24Feb2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Simelane |first1=Nkanyiso |title=Report of the Civil Society APRM Youth Submission Validation Workshop |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=24 February 2021 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAPS-Report_24Feb2021.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{simelane2021report, author = {Simelane, Nkanyiso}, title = {{Report of the Civil Society APRM Youth Submission Validation Workshop}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAPS-Report_24Feb2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }