On Friday August 2, South African Maritime Sea Authority (SAMSA) paid Ndlambe Municipality a visit, to pitch a youth development programme. This was a special presentation at a Special Council Meeting on Friday, August 2 at the Council Chambers in Campbell street.
Maringa Mafemani the SAMSA (Southern Region) Industry Development Manager alongside his colleague the Regional Manager Bongi Stofile, presented the initiative.
“The Maritime Youth Development Programme (MYDP) aims to empower disadvantaged youth by providing training and employment opportunities in the cruise line industry. To be eligible, participants must have passed Grade 12 with preferably Mathematics and English, if they don’t have it’s fine, be unemployed, have good communication skills, and have [no] criminal record,” Mafemani said.
The programme is delivered through SAMSA in partnership with social partners, covering recruitment, training, certification, and absorption. Successful candidates will undergo an interview process, with final selection done by industry partners. Launched in 2017, the programme has achieved remarkable success, with over 300 youth employed in the cruise liners.
The cost of the training is R40 000 per learner inclusive of accommodation, flights, medicals, stipend, meals, visas and focuses on training for employment.
MYDP provides 2-3 months of training, delivered by accredited institutions through SAMSA. This initiative aims to promote South Africa as a recruitment hub for the maritime sector, with a focus on the cruise liner industry, which has vast job creation potential. By strengthening partnerships with municipalities, SAMSA seeks to foster collaborative stakeholder engagement and address pressing issues like unemployment, poverty, and inequality.
“Through this programme, SAMSA is committed to creating meaningful employment opportunities and promoting maritime interests. SAMSA ensures that these participants will be guaranteed employment after this training,” Stofile ended the presentation, opening the floor to ward councillors to ask any questions they have.
Councillor Nadine Haynes asked “What happens when these individuals don’t pass the training? This programme sounds good but just too good to be true. Why do you now want anything back in return? Why not make it a bursary of sorts and make the individuals pay back the money when they are employed to keep the programming running for the next group? I am also concerned with the amount of money the municipality will have to fund each participant: R40 000 per person is steep considering Ndlambe’s financial standing,” Haynes said.
Stofile responded: “Well, we don’t believe in the bursary or any loan system because these individuals come from dire home situations. We don’t expect them to have the money to pay back as they don’t have the money to even go on the programme.”
Councillor Xolisa Runeli asked: “How will this programme benefit our local municipality, [given that- these children will work for overseas companies? We will be losing young talent and skillsets, yet we are paying for them to go on this training only for them to leave us here running at a loss. How will this help with our development as a community? We have the resources at our fingertips, we have the ocean here in Port Alfred, we have a harbour – everything to make our town a success: why not put all this effort into helping Port Alfred develop and grow, and really end unemployment in our town?”
Stofile did not have a response to what Runeli said.
Councillors voted for the programme and the motion to approve it was passed by a majority of just one vote. The Ndlambe Municipal Council has 20 members, comprising three EFF councillors, six DA councillors and 11 ANC councillors.
It is yet to be confirmed when the intake will take place and how many participants will be given this opportunity.
- This article was first published in Talk of the Town, August 8, 2024. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
