Durban - The National Freedom Party (NFP) said it was considering not sending any member that would turn 60 years to Parliament and provincial legislatures in the 2024 election to minimise youth unemployment in the country.
In a statement sent by the party secretary-general Canaan Mdletshe, he said the party had received submissions from the branches as it prepared for a policy conference that the age limit for Parliament and legislature representatives should be 60.
“The National Freedom Party is seriously considering setting 60 years as the age limit for its deployees suitable for representing the party in Parliament and provincial legislators.
“This is one of the submissions the party has received from its members as we prepare for a policy conference to be held towards the end of the year.
“We have allowed our members to make some contributions and amendments to our constitution. Part of the submissions we have received is that we need to consider the age of people we deploy in the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures,” read the statement.
Mdletshe told the Daily News on Thursday that as much as the leadership could not decide for branches, as they will have the final say, they believe it is a good submission which he did not believe would be rejected by delegates.
He said unemployment and inequality in this country had reached worrying levels and that there were already projections that if a solution was not found, the government was heading for disaster.
He added that his party was not saying the proposal will be a solution, as Parliament has only 400 seats, but it will make a difference because when combined with legislatures, the number of youth that would move to the middle-class level will grow annually because those members who will turn 60 every year would retire and be replaced with young people.
“We have massive joblessness in our country, especially among the youth. Therefore, continuing to choose oldies over the youth is not even an option. We want to make sure that the oldest deployee for the NFP would be 60, not above. It’s unacceptable and unfair. It’s inconsiderate because part of the reasons why people over 35 years would be unemployed at that age is the government’s fault,” Mdletshe said.
He said his party wants to create space and opportunities for over 35 years because they are a majority of a cohort that is currently searching for work opportunities, adding that the organisation was working around the discussions and policies that are pro-poor. He said it was unacceptable and painful that after 28 years, unemployment statistics were on the rise, with 65.5% of young people being unemployed, yet they have a black government in power.
Daily News