'We're committed to the youth' - Ramaphosa's pre-Sona entrepreneur engagement in five quotes

President Cyril Ramaphosa engaged young business people on Wednesday before his state of the nation (Sona) address, which he is to deliver in Cape Town on Thursday. 

The president gave an update on progress that has been made since their 2018 engagement, which included launching a business portal where start-ups can be registered.

Here's what he said in five quotes:

Committed to the youth 

“There is this mantra, 'nothing about us, without us,' and in this case as well, we don't want to do anything about you, without you and your involvement. As young people in our country, you have been very active and deeply involved in everything that has evolved in our country.”

Social compact in action 

“This is where we seek to find solutions to the problems that face our country. We are demonstrating that no policy or initiative about young people will take place without the full and direct participation of those most impacted and affected by the same policies.”

Government has adopted your suggestions

“Government has initiated two years of compulsory early learning for all children before they enter grade 1. I'm told that almost a million young people are now entering into the early childhood process that we initiated.”

Curriculum redesign 

“We are also in the process of curriculum redesign in existing schools to introduce subjects like technical mathematics, maritime studies, aviation studies and many others. This is being done to align the curriculum with the skills that are needed in our economy.”

Company registrations

“We have launched a website to allow you to register a company in only one day. This includes getting approval from the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), registering with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), getting a tax number with Sars and getting a bank account. We partnered with the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) and small business enterprises.”