Every member of the ANC's top six is over the age of 55. A happy Father's Day to the men among them. The average age of presidents in Africa is 77. I am surprised the AU has not declared a grandfather's day.
In an era in which the rest of the world is promoting youthful leadership, our country and continent seem to be stuck in old age. As we celebrate Youth Month, it is sad that the New Dawn has not reached our young people.
The most recent cabinet reshuffle indicates that we are not about to change this situation. In most political parties - bar the DA and EFF - the leaders are so old that they can't produce new ideas.
A youthful intervention in our body politic - in a population so heavily young - is our only hope for a truly new dawn. The ANC knows this well. It was when Nelson Mandela's youth league challenged the old guard that a real gearing-up in the struggle for liberation happened.
When things were falling into a lull, it was the revolution of June 1976 led by young people that made the whole world take note of the evil of apartheid.
Steve Biko, who died when he was just 30, bequeathed to this country the philosophy of black consciousness.We need a reminder of the value that young people can add to our new struggle for economic liberation.
The ruling party has all but destroyed the vibrancy of the ANC Youth League. This lack of attention to matters that are crucial for youth development - like education - happened under at least three cohorts of youth league leadership.
Under Peter Mokaba, Malusi Gigaba and Fikile Mbalula, the league was a kingmaker. The power-hungry among the elders of the ANCmisused this by fielding a group of puppets as youth leaders.
The Brett Kebble era of criminality gave birth to the first wave of a corruptible youth league, followed by Gupta state capture finally killing whatever was left of the historically dynamic organisation.
The results are there for all to see. Since Mbalula dared make himself available to be secretary-general of the ANC - in what he called a "generational mix" - he has been marginalised.The league has lost its sting, and its lethargic approach to activism resulted in the birth of the EFF, which took whatever useful remnants remained and started a political party that is now a pain in the side of the ANC.
For the past decade the ANC has seemed happy with a pliable and ineffective league that was told to its face by both Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa that it was good for nothing but to defend the leadership of the ANC. This was said amid huge youth unemployment.
The league was shamelessly called to defend the corruption Zuma was presiding over, including the painful state capture whose full impact on the lives of young people is yet to be quantified.The current generation of young people has to unshackle itself from the bandwagon of inertia and determine a radical path for itself.
This will not be handed to it on a platter.
In my interview with the spokesman of the league recently, he admitted that various ministers had not even bothered to meet with the league to discuss the youth agenda.
They have not even had a decent meeting with Ramaphosa to discuss the recently launched YES programme and Ramaphosa's intention to establish yet another youth advisory body.
These signs of marginalisation may have to do with the fact that the league backed the losing horse at Nasrec and may only really be fixed once it produces leaders seen as worthy by the New Dawn brigade.
Either way it is not a happy Youth Day for South Africa's youth. A new champion for their dreams and aspirations needs to emerge, and fast.
• Tabane is the host of Power Perspective on Power987 and Frankly Speaking on SABC3..