Dr Iqbal Survé says Ramaphosa missed an opportunity to deal with youth unemployment in South Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa's Wednesday meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House has drawn criticism for not adequately addressing the pressing issue of youth unemployment in South Africa, which affects a staggering 65% of young people. 

Dr Iqbal Survé, Chairman of Sekunjalo Investment Holdings and Independent Media, holds a view that Ramaphosa missed a crucial chance to address the country's serious problem of youth unemployment.

He was delivering a speech at the 2025 Future of Jobs Summit held at the DP World Wanderers in Melrose North, Johannesburg on Thursday, where he spoke about how South Africa can create job opportunities for the youth and a thriving economy. 

“If I was the President of South Africa, I would have sat in the Oval Office room last night (Wednesday) and I would have said 'President Trump we have 65% unemployment amongst the youth. Can you help the youth of South Africa to be able to help themselves as part of a technological programme, etcetera, etcetera',” he said.

Ramaphosa's visit to the US was prompted by concerns raised by Trump about alleged violence targeting white South African farmers. 

Trump had granted refugee status to 49 Afrikaner farmers, escalating tensions between the two nations.

Survé said while he agrees that the country needs to prioritise supporting farmers to ensure food security, it also needs to focus on tackling youth unemployment as a top priority. 

“We can’t have two-thirds of our youth having no hope, no future, no pathway to a career, no pathway to income and living in desperation. That is not acceptable, no matter what we say,” he said.

He stressed that the business leadership and public service leaders should do everything possible to prioritise youth employment.

“We have no choice otherwise we are going to live in our ivory towers, behind high walls, fearful of our lives,” he said.

According to him, youth employment issues require more than just annual discussions; they demand concrete actions and sustainable solutions.

“This must be top of the agenda. It must be the President’s priority to be able to say to the nation ‘65% is too much (and) within a decade we are going to get that down to 20% and this is how we are going to do it’,” Survé said.

He shot down the notion that South Africa's primary issue being a skills deficit, suggesting instead that the problem lies in the inability to create opportunities for young people.

“We have the skills set. What we need to do is to create opportunity for young people to participate in these programmes, both technological and otherwise,” he said

He stressed the need for platforms that accommodate diverse skill sets, enabling individuals without tertiary qualifications to leverage their skills and earn a living.

Survé noted that there were countless success stories of individuals thriving in the digital economy, where people leverage tech and media to earn a living. 

“Some of you call them influencers. It is a business in its own right. In the US at the moment someone can earn as high as 15 million dollars per year today in this particular space,” he said.

He emphasised that business leaders and the public sector share a crucial responsibility to create platforms and opportunities, especially in the tech space, for young people.

He criticised a delegate accompanying Ramaphosa for mentioning instances of violent crime resulting in throat slitting.

“How do you tell the world that someone is slitting someone’s throat in this country? Never wash your dirty linen in public. That is the first rule. Leave it. Let them say what they want to say. Don’t go and make the world think your country is a bunch of barbarians,” he said.

rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za