I am a young South African who graduated in 2020. Like many other young people in this country, I believed that education was the key that would unlock a better future. I studied hard, I sacrificed, and I celebrated when I finally held my qualification in my hands. I thought that moment would be the beginning of my independence.
Four years later, I am still waiting for that beginning.
I am still struggling to find permanent employment. I have sent out countless CVs, attended interviews, and applied for learnerships and internships, but stability has not come.
It is a painful reality to have a certificate that proves you are qualified, yet have no stable income to show for it. That disappointment slowly changed the way I see many things, including voting.
Every election season in South Africa, the story is the same. Politicians come to our communities with loudspeakers, bright T-shirts and big promises.
They promise jobs for the youth, they promise to fight corruption, to improve service delivery and to make life better for ordinary people. We listen, we hope, and we vote. But after the elections, life in my community remains the same, or even gets harder.
I know voting is my democratic right. I know people fought and died for that right. My grandparents remind me of this. But I have lost motivation. It is not because I do not love my country. It is because I no longer have confidence in the promises that are made to people like me. When you are a graduate who is unemployed for years, it is hard to believe in speeches about job creation.
What troubles me most about South Africa today is the crisis of youth unemployment and the rising cost of living. I am not alone. Thousands of young graduates are in the same position. We have diplomas, degrees and national certificates, but we cannot find work to support ourselves, let alone our families. We want to be independent, but we are forced to continue depending on our parents and relatives.
While we are struggling to find jobs, everything else is becoming more expensive. The price of maize meal, bread, cooking oil, electricity, data and taxi fares keeps increasing. Even people who have jobs are complaining.
Imagine how it feels to be unemployed when even basic necessities are out of reach. It is stressful, it affects your mental health, and it makes you feel like your hard work at school was for nothing.
Beyond unemployment, other issues trouble me deeply — corruption, crime, poverty and poor service delivery. We read about money that was meant for development being misused, while young people sit at home with qualifications. We see communities without clean water, proper roads or reliable electricity. It feels like the government is failing the very generation that is supposed to build the future of this country.
Despite my disappointment, I have not lost hope for South Africa.
If I were given the opportunity to make a difference, I would start with information. Many young people miss opportunities simply because they do not know about them.
I would like to help young people access information about employment opportunities, learnerships, bursaries, and further education. Sometimes a single piece of information shared at the right time can change someone’s life.
I also dream of a country built on honesty, accountability and equal opportunities. A South Africa where jobs are given based on qualifications and merit, not on who you know. A country where a young person can afford food, rent and transport. A country where graduates do not have to wait years to find meaning for their studies.
I may have lost interest in voting for now because I am hurt and disappointed. But I have not lost hope for a better South Africa. I still believe change is possible, and I want to be part of that change, even in a small way.
