Ramaphosa commemorates Youth Day in Soweto

President Cyril Ramaphosa braved the cold weather and led the country’s Youth Day celebrations in Soweto on Saturday.

Accompanied by ministers Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Nathi Mthethwa and Gauteng Premier David Makhura, he walked from the Morris Isaacson High School to the Hector Pieterson Museum, a distance of 4km.

Ramaphosa placed a wreath at Pieterson’s grave. The 12-year-old schoolboy was killed during demonstrations against the apartheid regime’s decision to impose Afrikaans as the language of instruction in schools on this day in 1976.

Ramaphosa spoke to locals and posed for pictures. In a speech at Orlando Stadium later, he said the requirement for graduates to have work experience in order to get jobs had to be scrapped.

He lamented the extent of youth unemployment in the country.

The theme of this year’s celebrations is “Live the legacy: towards a socioeconomically empowered youth.”