Civil Society Organisations and the National Youth Policy Implementation in the Context of COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Implementing the National Youth Policy 2020-2030 in South Africa, focusing specially on the National Youth Service Programme (NYSP) is crucial in developing young people who are battling with the triple challenges of crime, poverty, and unemployment. For decades, civil society organisations have played a vital role in implementing the National Youth Policy with or without government financial assistance. Implementing the National Youth Policy during COVID-19 has been disrupted in South Africa. Therefore, a post-COVID-19 intervention strategy needs to be implemented to ensure the effective implementation of the National Youth Policy 2030. The study aims to explore challenges that the civil society organisations faced in implementing the National Youth Policy2020-2030 in the context of COVID-19, focusing specially on the NYSP in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. A qualitative research method was used in this study, followed by a purposive sample involving ten youth workers from youth-led NPOs and youth-focused Non-Profit Organisations who were sampled to participate in the study from the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The study findings revealed that youth workers drawn from NPOs in the context of the COVID-19 struggle to obtain financial assistance to implement the NYSP. This study recommends that the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) establish a fund relief project under the National Youth Service Unit called "You served, and I embrace you”. This project will fund social entrepreneurs who want to address the social-economic issues in their communities.