PROGRESS REPORT ON AMENDMENT OF THE NATIONAL YOUTH DEVELOPMENT DPME: 06 June 2018 PROGRESS REPORT ON AMENDMENT OF THE NATIONAL YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AGENCY ACT

1. PURPOSE OF THE PRESENTATION To report progress on amendment of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) Act, Act No. 54 of 2008.

2. BACKGROUND NYDA was established as the merger of the National Youth Commission (NYC) and Umsobomvu Youth Fund (UYF). The President passed the NYDA Act, Act No. 54 of 2008 as the founding legislation of the NYDA. However, after its existence the NYDA encountered challenges, particularly in relation to execution of its legislated mandate. It was then proposed that the founding legislation be amended to intensify youth development service provision.

3. Process of amending the Act A Task Team to provide technical support to the Minister in the amendment process was established. It consists of representatives from: DPME; Presidency; NYDA; National Treasury; DPSA; and COGTA.

4. OBJECTIVES OF THE BILL The objectives of amending the NYDA Act are to: streamline the broad mandate of the NYDA, particularly in relation to programmes offered by other youth development institutions; scale up service provision to reach young people at local levels; address the challenges identified in practical implementation of the Act by providing for measures to address those.

5. PROBLEM STATEMENT There are presently 17 operational NYDA branches offering NYDA’s products and services at provincial levels. These are inadequate to render services to young people at local levels. Therefore, there remains a gap with regard to accessibility of NYDA services, particularly to young people in deep rural areas. Furthermore, even though youth development services are rendered by other stakeholders such as government departments, there is still poor mainstreaming of programmes within sector specific programmes and policies. This is due to lack of human and financial resources, inadequate and poorly skilled personnel as well as budgets which are often not youth responsive. There are also disparities in service provision by the youth development service providers. All these culminated into poor programming, inaccessible and limited impact of youth development services.

6. CONSIDERATIONS IN AMENDING THE ACT In amending the NYDA Act, consideration is being made for: expanding products and services of the NYDA to reach youth at provincial and local levels. strengthening the entire youth development machinery in the country through institutionalisation and mainstreaming of youth development services. strengthening coordination mechanisms.

7. PROGRESS MADE SO FAR The NYDA made a submission to the Task Team, proposing areas of amendment for the NYDA Act. These provisions have considered and a submission would then be made to the Minister for approval. Once approved, a socio-economic impact study will be conducted. There will be also be a submission to the Office of the Chief State Law Advisor to request certification of the Bill and legal opinion. The Bill would then be submitted to Parliament via Cabinet. Parliament will make a determination on whether to tag the Bill as section 75 or section 76, prior to it being assented into law.

WAYFORWARD & CONCLUSION PROPOSED DIRECTION - Policy decision would be taken on the proposed areas of amendment for the NYDA Act. - There is also a need for further engagement with all relevant key stakeholders. - The Bill would then be processed to Parliament via Cabinet. WAYFORWARD & CONCLUSION