South Africa’s National Youth Development Agency is conducting an internal review of its operational expenditures, including its Sandton headquarters lease, as it navigates heightened parliamentary oversight and persistent youth unemployment challenges.
Executive Deputy Chairperson Bonga Makhanya confirmed that the agency’s board, appointed in August 2025, is assessing legacy contracts covering office rentals, branch networks, and personnel arrangements. The review aims to determine whether current spending aligns with the NYDA’s mandate to deliver direct services to young people.
“The issue of youth development cannot be looked at by the NYDA alone,” Makhanya stated. “If you look at our budget, we are not necessarily in a position where we could satisfy all the needs of the youth.”
The expenditure review follows scrutiny from Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities. While Makhanya declined to address specific parliamentary criticisms through media channels, he provided context on the Sandton office, which accommodates approximately 330–340 employees. He noted that monthly rental costs of roughly 700,000 to 800,000 rand are consistent with market rates for comparable state-owned enterprise premises, though the strategic suitability of the Sandton location versus alternatives like Sunning Hill remains under discussion.
The governance assessment occurs against a backdrop of severe economic pressure on young South Africans. Recent quarterly labor force data indicates approximately 345,000 jobs were lost in the fourth quarter of 2025, with youth disproportionately affected. Makhanya emphasized the NYDA’s role as a coordinating mechanism across national, provincial, and local government to mainstream youth development policies, while acknowledging that sustainable impact requires broader collaboration.
The agency continues to deliver direct services, including business grants and skills development programs. Makhanya also announced the imminent launch of a national youth service initiative under the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention, designed to create 100,000 paid opportunities for young people over the next 6 to 12 months.
However, he stressed that meaningful progress depends on private sector engagement. “The largest employer in this country is not government, it’s the private sector,” Makhanya noted, citing that approximately 14 million of South Africa’s 15 million jobs originate in the private sector. He called for youth set-asides and targeted business opportunities in strategic sectors including mining, energy, construction, and transport.
When questioned about national austerity measures and their potential impact on employment-generating public sectors such as education and health, Makhanya explained that the NYDA operates within fiscal directives from National Treasury and its overseeing department as part of the seventh administration. He suggested the agency could facilitate a policy dialogue to gather youth perspectives on economic direction, while affirming support for current government efforts.
The agency also addressed reports regarding the procurement of forensic investigation services related to internal expenditure disclosures. Makhanya confirmed that internal deliberations are ongoing concerning responses to procurement matters, including a previously reported 1 million rand expenditure for an official trip to New York last year in which he participated.
He firmly distanced the agency from any actions that could undermine whistleblowers or ethical accountability. “I don’t think that the NYDA would at any point in time want to find itself being inconsistent with the laws of the republic,” Makhanya stated. “We would not want to delegitimize or try to demobilize South Africans from calling out corruption.”
Specifically addressing reports that forensic investigators might be used to identify whistleblowers, Makhanya stated such an approach would be “unlawful” and inconsistent with the ethical leadership young South Africans expect. He emphasized that final determinations on these matters will be communicated through appropriate official channels once internal processes conclude.
As the NYDA balances operational reviews with its mandate to coordinate youth development initiatives, Makhanya reiterated the need for “all hands on deck” from government and private sector partners to address the structural challenges facing young South Africans.