SOUTH AFRICANS...
...are known for their unshakable respect for their culture and tradition. While that may be so, modern times have brought about a culture of outspokenness among young people.

The country’s constitution, which speaks of the rights of individuals, has also opened the way for robust verbal engagements between young people and their elders. Over the past few months, the former ANC Youth League President Julius Malema has been in the news, voicing opinions about various issues affecting our society ñ from the nationalization of mines, the tri-partite alliance, to the power-sharing debacle in Zimbabwe and the leadership of this country.

While some of his statements may have been to the point, others have left a lot of people wondering what his intentions are. Generally, youth leadership is characterized by opinionated radicalism and this endears most of them to their followers.

In their time, leaders such as Nelson Mandela were also referred to as radical young men, but the difference was that they were fighting the apartheid regime. Their tone of voice, body language and mannerisms were a bone of contention for the apartheid regime.

After this country’s political emancipation, change came and hard work began to build a non-racial non-sexist country. Post-1994, a new breed of youth leaders emerged.

These were young leaders that had the uncanny knack next page >>