PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - A new Bitou Junior Town Council (BJTC), to teach high school learners between the ages of 16 to 20 about local governance, is to be established soon.
The BJTC will be non-political and voluntary, made up of learners from all the high schools within the Bitou region and Council mandated the office of the Speaker to create a Junior Town Council Framework.
Mynhardt Krüger, the head of history at Wittedrift High School, who is the driving force behind the initiative, presented the proposal to the Bitou Council for consideration at its monthly meeting on Wednesday 31 August.
“We need young people to learn how the processes of government work, so that they can be prepared and skilled when their time comes to take control of our country's steering wheel,” says Krüger.
Five members from each school within Bitou will be selected to become part of the BJTC which will be managed by the Speaker’s department.
It will use the Cape Town Junior Council as a model to broaden the knowledge of Bitou learners about the workings of local government and municipal matters, developing their understanding of how projects work, and making Plettenberg Bay a better town to live in.
Krüger says the aim of the junior council will be to empower the youth by involving them in the representative structures of the municipality, to become active adult citizens and includes a vision to see youth leaders evolve in becoming ambassadors and role models.
Members of the BJTC will be kitted out with a blazer and tie subsidised by the municipality which they will wear to meetings.
BJTC has two principal functions to ensure that youth are actively aware of matters that may concern/affect them and to establish a reliable channel of representation through which youth are properly represented.
"Once BJTC is embedded in our local government structures, I am convinced that we will reduce youth apathy exponentially," says Krüger. "Young people simply have to realise the importance of their involvement in government - directly, as a representative, or indirectly, as a community member."
He says the responsibilities related to a body such as BJTC requires vigour, passion, commitment and perseverance.
"All of these qualities are locked within the spirit of our young people. With some guidance, we will be able to unlock their abilities to unleash their full potential, which will ultimately benefit our entire community. By combining diverse characters, backgrounds, cultures, religions, traditions and ideas - which we undoubtedly have in our town - we can ensure that the future of Bitou is luminous."
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