I will be writing to the Auditor-General of South Africa to request an investigation into whether the Isiqalo Youth Fund has delivered value for money, whether proper oversight was exercised, and whether public funds were used effectively amid the province’s deepening unemployment crisis.
The Democratic Alliance will continue to demand clarity on whether the Isiqalo Youth Fund is being abandoned in practice, and what concrete intervention will replace it for young people seeking support to start and grow businesses.
The Eastern Cape is facing the worst unemployment crisis in South Africa, yet the Premier has confirmed that no funding has been allocated to the Isiqalo Youth Fund for the 2026/27 financial year. In a province where young people are locked out of work and opportunity, that decision demands an explanation.
The Premier cannot keep advertising opportunities while defunding one of the few programmes meant to create them.
The official unemployment rate in the Eastern Cape now stands at 42.5%, with 79,000 jobs lost over the past year, including 32,000 in the final quarter of 2025 alone. In rural parts of the province, the expanded unemployment rate has climbed to 61.2%. These are not marginal figures. They reflect an economy in distress and a generation being left behind.
In that context, the absence of any allocation to the Isiqalo Youth Fund is indefensible. The fund was presented as a vehicle to support young entrepreneurs and help create jobs. Now, when the need is greatest, there is no budget for it.
This is made worse by the Fund’s weak performance in the previous financial year. Of the R30 million allocated in 2024/25, only R17.1 million was spent, and only 22 beneficiaries were reached. The Premier has also confirmed that employment outcomes for 2026/27 will only be determined if funding becomes available. That means there is currently no funded plan, no measurable target, and no certainty about whether the programme will continue in any meaningful form.
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I have already raised serious concerns about the Fund’s implementation after oversight findings revealed uneven district spread, incomplete infrastructure, weak verification processes, missing employees during site visits, and governance weaknesses at funded projects. Those failures already cast serious doubt on the Fund’s effectiveness. Leaving it without funding now is not a correction. It is an admission of failure.
The Eastern Cape cannot afford symbolic programmes with no money behind them. Young people need access to opportunity, credible support, and a government prepared to match its promises with funding.
The people of the Eastern Cape deserve leadership that delivers, and a future built on dignity, opportunity, and honest government.