Saldanha Bay Municipality (SBM) held an inauguration ceremony for the 2021 Saldanha Bay Youth Council on Friday 13 November.
Hosted at the White City Multipurpose Centre in Saldanha, the young men and women were formally dressed in their school uniforms for the occasion, proudly representing their schools on the West Coast.
Marius Koen, Mayor of Saldanha Bay, reminded the newly elected youth council that, like its predecessors, it had a tremendous task ahead of it. He told the learners they seriously needed to sit down and plan how they can strategically and proactively create and implement school awareness campaigns, projects, indabas and partnerships to turn the youth around in the various communities.
Koen also highlighted that in 2018 there were nearly 9,5 million South Africans who couldn’t find work. Some under the age of 24 had a great chance of being unemployed and possibly still are.
“This right here is one of my greatest concerns and a national ticking time bomb,” Koen said. “We need to seriously come up with plans on how to include our young people into the country’s economy otherwise we can forget about building a prosperous South Africa.”
Newly elected junior mayor Isaiah Mataka said he felt honoured and humbled to represent youth in this role.
He says he plans to use this platform to voice the concerns and feelings of the youth in the community.
“My vision for 2021 is straightforward. I would like to focus on two main problems, the low matric pass rate and the mental health of the youth. I am, however, not disregarding the other issues that our youth face such as teenage pregnancy and more.” These sentiments are also shared by newly elected junior speaker Skhokele Torheni, who is also honoured and ready to take on his new role.
Koen wished all the outgoing councillors well and congratulated the incoming junior youth councillors, adding that he is proud to be affiliated with the Saldanha Bay Junior Youth Council.
Saldanha Bay Municipality’s newly elected Youth Councillors are:
Isaiah Mataka (Junior Mayor)
Jaden Tromp (Junior Deputy Speaker)
Skhokele Torheni (Junior Speaker)
Stacey Langley (Junior Deputy Mayor)
Alexi Frick
Anke Austi
Caro-lee Cupido
Charlize Ramsden
Christo de Wet
Crestobell Kamowa
Damian Cleophas
Janesta Swarts
Jason Geldenhuys
Kaylin Hector
Leila Louw
Lothan Love
Makwenkwe Khanyisa
Pieter Kotze
Sade Williams
Saleni Aviwe
Tashlyn Engelbrecht
