Remarks by U.S. Ambassador Jendayi Frazer
at the Youth Development Trust--SmartCity Tshwane Launch
Innovation Hub
June 14, 2005

It is a great pleasure to be here at Africa’s first innovation hub with so many partners wishing to build a positive future for and with South Africa’s young adults. 

This is my first celebration of Youth Day in South Africa.  The theme of this year’s Youth Month is “Create Youth Employment and Fight Poverty.” We all know that without jobs, young people can be extremely susceptible to an array of social ills, including unrest, crime, prostitution and HIV/AIDS.

On this note, let me just take a moment to say that working with the South African government to fight the scourge of HIV/AIDS is one of the Mission’s top priorities here.   As it is a diseasethat strikes at the heart of the most productive members of society, I encourage all of you to know your status and to protect yourselves.  Make sure you are living healthy lives so that you and your loved ones can fulfill the dreams you have been nurturing here.

U.S. Partnerships

I am honored to tell you what my country is doing to help jobless young people overcome unemployment by developing entrepreneurial abilities and business-creation competencies. 

Most importantly, the U.S. Government works with South Africa’s government, business and civil society groups to create new opportunities for South Africa’s young citizens.

The United States applauds South Africa’s stance in placing youth high on the country’s development agenda.  Tshwane’s commitment to becoming this country’s technology and innovation capital is not only ambitious, but achievable, by partnering with the city’s youth to accomplish this goal.

We are very pleased to see the great strides being made by the Youth Development Trust (or “YDT”) in forming partnerships with some of the most pioneering and dynamic public and private institutions in Gauteng Province.

Our grant to the Youth Development Trust, through USAID’s Global Development Alliance with its U.S. Partner--the International Youth Foundation--reflects our commitment to support young South Africans who strive to take advantage of new opportunities made possible using 21^st century technology and advances.

USAID’s partnership and support to the YDT over the last two years has seen about 600 unemployed University and Technikon graduates trained in various Life skills, Entrepreneurial skills and Information and Communications Technology skills.

More than 74% of this group has been absorbed in jobs and long- term internships, including international internships with the American Hospitality Academy that services the hotel and tourism industries.

After the initial phase of training, the students will form a company that will provide technology services that will enable the Tshwane Municipality to better deliver services to its customers.  Other entities can be assisted similarly by the youth trained in our program, increasing further employment opportunities for young educated South Africans.

Having young entrepreneurs formulate their own businesses to help the city meet some of its most difficult challenges is a creative and judicious solution to the unemployment burden in South Africa.

The SmartCity project we are celebrating tonight combines community service opportunities from government that ingeniously service the city’s constituencies with SMS messages about rates bills.  SmartCity is the first approach of its kind with the recently launched United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA) program, with Father Mkhatswa as its inaugural President.  We are confident that the SmartCity concept will be emulated by other cities across South Africa and the African continent.

We are impressed with the partnerships this project has brought together, especially the Finnish Government, who have shared in this vision and have invested enormously in the further technological phases of the project. 

We believe that investments in you and others like you are critical to this great country achieving its goals.  The United States is pleased to contribute to that achievement through a wide range of programs which support youth, including scholarships through the Fulbright program, enhanced training of math and science teachers, and development of entrepreneurship skills among youth.  

My heartiest congratulations to the young entrepreneurs who will graduate from this program and launch their business this month. Thank you.

Further information is available from Reverie Zurba at USAID:  (012) 452-2000