Fuzile Jwara
Pretoria - It is still Youth Month in South Africa, a time when we commemorate the youth of 1976 for their boldness and active confrontation of the Apartheid regime.
Though there has been significant progress in a post-apartheid South Africa, there is still an insufficient amount of representation of young people in the structural governance of South Africa. This makes one ponder on the role of the youth in shaping and influencing the future of the country.
For this critical piece, I apply the theory of the production of space by French philosopher Henri Lefebvre to gauge the positionality of young people, particularly in the political sphere presently. We define the production of space as a social product (based on societal meaning and values) which influences social practices and perceptions.
This means that according to Lefebvre, people give meaning to the spaces around them according to beliefs, which guide how we conduct ourselves within those spaces.
From this definition, we can analyse space in relation to our own realities and at times ideological positions. A crucial dynamic in the analysis of space is the question of power, who determines the rules of engagement within a specific space and who is even allowed to participate in that particular space.
Thus, we can apply this to how we view the youth participation conundrum today.
It has become a common point in the discourse to bring up that young people, particularly the 18-29 age group, are less likely to vote in the elections than age groups 30-39 and 40-49. When thinking about spaces, what does the disenchantment of young people with electoral politics tell us about that particular space?
The answer may not be straightforward, however, it can be argued that political rhetoric today does not sway young people as much of it does not speak to the struggles of young people.
SA’s youth unemployment is one of the highest in the world, access to higher education can be determined by socioeconomic status despite the National Student Financial Aid Scheme now being a bursary, not a loan.
The general feeling is that it is the older generation gatekeeping governance spaces for themselves and making it very exclusionary of young people. This can be observed in the demographics of the legislative and executive branches of administration in South Africa.
It is easy to argue that part of the issue is how we give meaning to leadership spaces as a place for elders. In this sense, the prevailing assumption is that age brings wisdom. However, age also brings conservatism, as many people grow older they are ideologically left behind by the times.
This critique does not advocate for ageism but seeks to bring forth an argument that not every elder is wise enough to make decisions that will have trickle-down effects long after they are gone.
As such, it is a criticism of the current political class, many of whom were revolutionaries in their youth. The point of this piece is to put forward an argument that the current political space is inconducive to youth leadership. In turn, there is an imbalance not only in representation but also ideologically.
The current future of South African youth is bleak, but it appears the youth has also just accepted the structure for what it is, and this is where the criticism of young people comes in.
The lack of youth representation can also be an indication that the youth are not as politically conscious as they could be. Therefore, there is suggestion that South African youth are ideologically absent.
This brings back the theory of space production.
South Africa is wasting its most precious resource, a youthful population, similar to the rest of Africa.
Will the youth of 2023 please stand up.
* Jwara is an MA Sociology candidate at the University of Johannesburg.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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