State-owned agency spent R1 million on a trip to New York despite serious financial challenges

South Africa’s National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) is meant to combat challenges facing the country’s youth. Instead, it is plagued by mismanagement and poor financial controls.

The agency was formed to address challenges faced by South Africa’s youth, using its funds to support projects that uplift young communities.

Recently, the agency has been mired in controversy, with poor governance and disappointing results raising questions about its work.

This includes a trip which was recently taken by the chairperson of NYDA’s board, costing roughly R1 million of the agency’s budget.

The cost of this trip becomes more concerning when considering that the agency is funded by South Africa’s government.

The National Youth Development Agency has also been the subject of corruption allegations, with several whistleblowers coming forward about its operations.

It has since been discovered that the NYDA board has made multiple attempts to identify these whistleblowers, and an investigation into internal leaks is ongoing.

The agency’s poor governance is all the more concerning in light of the challenges currently facing South Africa’s youth.

Currently, youth unemployment among ages 15-24 is over 60%, and unemployment among ages 25-34 is over 40%.

NYDA should play a role in alleviating this unemployment crisis, but despite its large annual budgets, the agency has made little noticeable progress.

The agency saw a large jump in funding after the Covid-19 pandemic, receiving nearly R1 billion in the 2022 financial year.

Its budget in the last five years totals roughly R3.7 billion, while youth unemployment has risen by 1.5% in the same period.

This may seem like a meagre increase, but it is worth noting that this is an increase from the height of the Covid pandemic, one of the world’s largest economic disasters.

The country’s unemployment rate is among the highest in the world, far above the global average of approximately 12%.

The allegations are piling up

ActionSA parliament member, Alan Beesly, said the mandate of NYDA has never been more important than it is today.

He highlighted the serious socio-economic issues facing South Africa’s youth, such as the struggle to find work and the rising cost of living.

He said the current issues of mismanagement within the agency need urgent attention, with ActionSA planning to write to South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, to intervene.

Beesly said the current NYDA board appeared incapable of adhering to the principles of good governance.

This was in response to allegations that NYDA was actively seeking to identify whistleblowers within the company.

He also expressed concern about the use of agency funds for travel to New York, saying it reflected a “disturbing disregard for the plight of young South Africans.”

He highlighted the country’s current unemployment situation and said NYDA should use its budget to support those who cannot find work.

His biggest concern was the ongoing legal battle between NYDA and a journalist from TimesLive, with the NYDA chairperson seeking a protection order against the journalist.

This protection order would prevent the media house from publishing the name of the NYDA chairperson or their image.

The chairperson has said they are seeking this protection order in a personal capacity, but the legal fees are currently being bankrolled by NYDA.

Beesly noted that covering the chairperson’s legal fees was not approved by the NYDA board.

He said the legal action against TimesLive was an attempt by the chairperson to silence the media and expose whistleblowers in the company.

“A free press remains indispensable to holding those in power accountable,” he said.

“Particularly in a country where corruption continues to hollow out public institutions and divert resources from addressing the crisis of youth unemployment.”