KZN Department of Transport to boost youth jobs and service delivery

The Public Servants Association (PSA) applauded the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport for hiring 300 interns as part of a Youth Month initiative to tackle youth unemployment and boost skills development in the public sector.

Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma allocated R30.1 million to pay the new recruits, who were officially welcomed as the country observes Youth Month. Speaking to the interns, Mr Duma encouraged them to focus on building their futures and contributing to service delivery.

"From the onset, I want to discourage the use of your salaries to display opulence. You are not influencers but you are the engines of service delivery. You must use your skills and energy to advance service delivery,” he said.

The Public Servants Association (PSA) praised the move, calling it a "critical milestone" in tackling youth unemployment and building future capacity in government.

PSA spokesperson, Mr Mlungisi Ndlovu said reflects a transformative vision for inclusive economic growth and public-sector renewal. He added that it was rooted in practical, long-term investment in the youth of the province.

“The PSA regards this as not merely a short-term intervention, but acritical milestone in reshaping the trajectory of young professionals in South Africa. It is a strategic and deliberate response to youth unemployment, skills under utilisation and institutional succession crises in the public sector,” he said.

The partnership, forged through a memorandum of understanding between the department and the Coastal TVET College, based in Durban, is a commendable innovation in public-sector human-capital development, Mr Ndlovu added. It demonstrates the department’s foresight in bridging the divide between formal education and practical workplace experience.

“This gap had previously denied deserving graduates’ meaningful entry into the labour market. The MEC’s call to action, urging the youth to deploy their skills in service of the nation and expedite infrastructure development for the benefit of communities, captures the ethos of public service. These 300 young professionals represent the next cadre of public servants whose talents must be harnessed, sharpened, and elevated to ensure sustainable delivery of public goods in an evolving democratic state,” said Mr Ndlovu.

He added that this initiative represents a blueprint for progressive governance, recognising that building state capacity is inseparable from investing in the youth. The PSA therefore challenges all departments in KZN, and nationally, to replicate and institutionalise similar programmes that respond to the constitutional imperative of dignity through employment and equitable development.

“The MEC’s leadership is laudable and instructive for a state machinery often paralysed by policy indecision and administrative inertia. Let this be the dawn of a new era where public institutions become incubators of talent, innovation, and ethical leadership.”

He said the programme should serve as a model for other departments, especially during Youth Month, which is being marked under the theme “Our Youth, Our Future.”