SAYC Ethekwini METRO

08/06/2026

SAYC eThekwini Metro Collaborates with NUM KZN Youth Structure.
8 June 2026

The South African Youth Council (SAYC) – eThekwini Region extends its appreciation to the National Union of Mine Workers KZN Region Youth Structure, for inviting the organisation to participate in the Regional Youth Committee engagement recently held at the Diakonia Centre in Durban. The meeting provided an important platform for youth formations to share their mandates, strengthen collaboration, and engage on matters affecting young people across our communities.

SAYC welcomed the opportunity to present its vision for youth development and reaffirmed its commitment to working with all progressive youth stakeholders in advancing employment creation, skills development, entrepreneurship, social cohesion, and meaningful youth participation in decision-making processes. We remain committed to building strong partnerships that place the interests of young people at the centre of development and transformation efforts throughout eThekwini and the broader KwaZulu-Natal Province.

28/05/2026

The South African Youth Council (SAYC) – eThekwini Region was honoured to form part of the official launch of the Rexona Safe Hub sports facility in KwaMashu F Section, established through a partnership between eThekwini Municipality and Unilever. This important initiative will provide young people with a safe and empowering space for sports development, wellness, skills growth, and positive social engagement.

The facility represents a major investment in the future of the youth of Ward 47 and the broader KwaMashu community, while also helping to steer young people away from drugs, crime, and other social challenges. SAYC welcomes initiatives that place youth development, opportunity, and community upliftment at the centre of transformation.

26/05/2026

The South African Youth Council (SAYC) – eThekwini Region welcomed and supported the Positive Masculinity Programme held on Friday, 22 May 2026 in Durban, hosted by African Global Networks in partnership with the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities under the leadership of the Honourable Minister in the Presidency, Ms Sindisiwe Chikunga.

The engagement reinforced the urgent need for practical interventions that address GBVF, youth unemployment, social instability and the rebuilding of responsible, disciplined and economically active young men within our communities.
SAYC remains committed to supporting programmes that create safer communities, stronger leadership and meaningful opportunities for young people across eThekwini and the broader KwaZulu-Natal province.

25/05/2026

MEDIA STATEMENT:
SAYC SUPPORTS POSITIVE MASCULINITY PROGRAMME ACTIVATION IN DURBAN
25 MAY 2026

The South African Youth Council (SAYC) - eThekwini Region welcomed and fully supported the Positive Masculinity Programme Activation on Friday 22 May 2026 in Durban, under the leadership of the Honourable Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Ms Sindisiwe Chikunga.

As an organisation committed to youth development, social cohesion, economic participation and community advancement, SAYC recognises the strategic importance of initiatives that actively confront Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) while simultaneously rebuilding the moral, social and economic fabric of society through youth-centred interventions. The Positive Masculinity Programme arrived at a critical time in South Africa’s social and economic landscape. Young people, particularly young men, continue to face rising unemployment, social exclusion, mental health pressures, substance abuse, violence and the collapse of positive mentorship structures within our communities. These realities require society to move beyond slogans and into structured interventions that produce disciplined, employable, entrepreneurial and socially responsible young men.

SAYC believes that positive masculinity cannot exist in isolation from economic empowerment, skills development, education access, mentorship and meaningful social participation. A young man without access to opportunity becomes vulnerable to hopelessness, crime, substance abuse and destructive social behaviour. For this reason, SAYC views this programme not only as a social awareness campaign, but as a strategic platform for long-term youth development and social investment. We particularly acknowledge the role of African Global Networks NPC and all collaborating stakeholders in creating a platform that brings together government, civil society, youth formations, faith-based organisations, traditional leadership and private sector actors around a common objective of building safer communities and responsible leadership among young men.

For SAYC, these engagements are not symbolic. They are strategic entry points into building sustainable youth pipelines linked to employment opportunities, enterprise development, leadership training, community participation and long-term economic inclusion.The organisation will continue engaging stakeholders across government, municipalities, civil society and the private sector to ensure that programmes aimed at young people produce measurable outcomes and tangible opportunities rather than temporary activations without long-term impact.

As young people continue to navigate economic hardship and social instability, the responsibility to rebuild communities cannot rest on government alone. It requires coordinated partnerships, accountable leadership and practical implementation driven by all sectors of society.

SAYC therefore encourages young people across eThekwini and KwaZulu Natal to participate in programmes that promote responsible leadership, respect for women and children, accountability, discipline, entrepreneurship, social awareness and active citizenship.
The future stability and prosperity of South Africa depends heavily on the kind of men society chooses to build today.

____________________________
Contact Us
For enquiries, please contact:

Melusi Romeo Gumede
eThekwini Regional Spokesperson
📞 067 822 6083

Lihle Hlatshwayo
eThekwini Regional Chairperson
📞 062 066 5979

Issued on behalf of:
South African Youth Council (SAYC) – eThekwini Region

18/05/2026

Young people across eThekwini came together through the SAYC Youth Hike Programme in a powerful demonstration of unity, wellness, engagement and action. What began as a 5-kilometre Waterfall Trail hike evolved into meaningful discussions on the growing crisis of youth unemployment, the future of economic participation and the urgent need for coordinated solutions capable of restoring dignity and opportunity to young people. This programme marks the beginning of broader mobilisation and sustained youth led engagement across eThekwini.

18/05/2026

MEDIA STATEMENT:
SAYC YOUTH HIKE PROGRAMME UNITES YOUNG PEOPLE AROUND THE FIGHT AGAINST YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT
18 MAY 2026

The South African Youth Council (SAYC) – eThekwini Region successfully hosted the SAYC Youth Hike Programme, bringing together young people, civic formations, political structures, labour organisations and community stakeholders under a common objective: confronting the growing crisis of youth unemployment in South Africa.

The programme was attended by various organisations and stakeholders including Sinothando Organisation, Ngcweti Organisation, NUMSA Youth Desk, SASCO and the Young Communist League (YCL), amongst others. Their participation reflects a growing recognition that the challenges facing young people require coordinated engagement, decisive leadership and practical intervention across all sectors of society.

Proceedings commenced with a vigorous wellness and stretching session, followed by a 5 kilometre Waterfall Trail hike aimed at promoting healthy living, discipline and social cohesion amongst young people. The programme thereafter transitioned into a Commission Session on youth unemployment, where participants engaged critically on the realities confronting young people across eThekwini and South Africa at large.

Discussions acknowledged youth unemployment not merely as a social challenge, but as a National Crisis requiring urgent intervention from government, the private sector, organised formations and broader society. Deliberations focused on economic inclusion, skills development, entrepreneurship and the creation of meaningful pathways into economic activity for young people.

The South African Youth Council – eThekwini Region maintains that young people can no longer remain spectators in an economy that continues to exclude them. The time has arrived for deliberate investment into youth development, economic participation and long term opportunities capable of restoring dignity, stability and hope to millions of young people across the country.

Importantly, engagements emerging from the programme resolved that this initiative must serve as the beginning of broader mobilisation and sustained action around issues affecting young people. In this regard, the South African Youth Council encourages all young people, stakeholders and organisations to take note of an important youth led programme scheduled for June 2026.
Further details will be communicated in due course.

The SAYC Youth Hike Programme marks the beginning of broader engagements aimed at positioning young people at the centre of economic development, policy engagement and decision making processes within society. The South African Youth Council – eThekwini Region remains committed to building strategic relations with stakeholders across both the public and private sectors in pursuit of meaningful and measurable solutions to the challenges confronting young people today.

____________________________
Contact us
For enquiries, please contact:

Melusi Romeo Gumede
eThekwini Regional Spokesperson
📞 067 822 6083

Lihle Hlatshwayo
eThekwini Regional Chairperson
📞 062 066 5979

Issued on behalf of:
South African Youth Council (SAYC) – eThekwini Region

10/05/2026

01/05/2026

MEDIA STATEMENT:
WORKERS’ DAY COMMEMORATION
01 MAY 2026

The South African Youth Council (SAYC) – eThekwini Region joins the people of South Africa in commemorating Workers’ Day, a day that honours the courage, sacrifice and historic struggles of workers who fought for dignity, fair labour practices, safer working conditions and economic justice. We pay tribute to the generations of workers whose efforts helped build our democracy and laid the foundation for the rights many enjoy today. Their legacy reminds us that progress is never given freely, but won through unity, discipline and collective action.

As we reflect on this important day, we also recognise the urgent challenges facing young people, including unemployment, underemployment, exploitation and barriers to meaningful economic participation. SAYC reaffirms its commitment to advocating for decent work opportunities, skills development, entrepreneurship support and inclusive economic growth that places youth at the centre of South Africa’s future.

We call on government, business, labour and civil society to work together in creating pathways to sustainable livelihoods and shared prosperity for all.

____________________________
Contact Us
For enquiries, please contact:

Melusi Romeo Gumede
eThekwini Regional Spokesperson
📞 067 822 6083

Lihle Hlatshwayo
eThekwini Regional Chairperson
📞 062 066 5979

Issued on behalf of:
South African Youth Council (SAYC) – eThekwini Region

29/04/2026