By Mbali Lavhelani
This year marks the 46th anniversary of the June 16 Soweto uprising and the theme for the year is Promoting sustainable livelihoods and resilience of young people for a better tomorrow the call to action will be for youth to forge resilience and pursue opportunities for a sustainable livelihood, today and in the future.
As we reflect on Youth Day it is important to note the victories that we have achieved and enjoy as the youth of a post-apartheid South Africa. I look at my life as a black female Chartered Accountant who was afforded a good education and granted a bursary to further my tertiary education and I am happy to say that the students of June 16 have had an undeniable and immense impact in my life. Their sacrifice and resilience afforded me the opportunity to be able to work for a female black owned company that is making great strides in the renewable energy sector such as Mahlako Financial Services. However, I also acknowledge that we still have a long way to go in reaching these achievements for all the students of South Africa.
There is a clear energy crisis in our country and the solution to this requires an educated youth to identify, develop and maintain sustainable and eco-friendly sources of energy for the country.
Addressing the energy crisis calls for business development and strategies that will be multi-beneficial in that it will create jobs, unearth new markets and most importantly ensure a continuous energy supply for the citizens of South Africa.
Happy Youth day in honour of the youth of yesterday, appreciating the youth of today and counting on the youth of tomorrow.
