Traditional Leader Urges Action on Youth Jobless Crisis
Inkosi Zanothando Lithalobom Mtirara offers traditional land to young farmers as youth unemployment stands at 47.4% nationally.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Employment
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Inkosi Zanothando Lithalobom Mtirara has called on the government to act on youth unemployment, which Statistics South Africa placed at 47.4% for people aged 15 to 34 in the second quarter of 2026. He has also offered traditional land to young people who want to farm.
Why it matters
Roughly five million young people were jobless in the second quarter of 2026, and Inkosi Mtirara argues that a lack of real opportunities exposes them to drug and substance abuse, crime and other social problems. His call adds pressure on the government to reopen old and abandoned factories, especially in towns and rural areas.
Statistics South Africa's labour figures for the second quarter of 2026 show 47.4% of people aged 15 to 34 were unemployed, with about five million young people jobless nationally. The Eastern Cape had the highest overall unemployment rate of any province at 47.5%, and the source does not report any change from earlier quarters.
The players
Statistics South Africa
The national statistical agency that compiles the country's quarterly labour force surveys and official unemployment figures.
Inkosi Zanothando Lithalobom Mtirara
A traditional leader of the Mthatha West Traditional Authority in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, who is calling for government action on youth jobs.
The details
Inkosi Mtirara, of the Mthatha West Traditional Authority in Mthatha, says traditional leaders are ready to make land available to young people who want to farm. He also says thousands of qualified graduates are sitting at home without work, and that some young people depend on grants meant mainly for the elderly and vulnerable people.
Timeline
Second quarter of 2026: youth unemployment measured at 47.4% nationally.
August 2026: Statistics South Africa released the latest labour figures.
6 November 2026: Inkosi Mtirara's call for action was published.
Season Trajectory
The 47.4% youth unemployment figure from Statistics South Africa's Labour Force Survey places the traditional leader's call within the national quarterly series that tracks youth joblessness for ages 15 to 34. The reading shows that the problem Inkosi Mtirara describes is measured in official statistics rather than remaining a local complaint.
For young South Africans searching for work, the figures mean that nearly half of people aged 15 to 34 were without jobs in the second quarter of 2026. The offer of traditional land for farming gives some young people in traditional communities a possible route to income, though the source does not say how the land would be accessed.
The takeaway
Youth unemployment at 47.4% is a national problem that local leaders are now asking government to address directly. Readers looking for work or planning a business can watch for official follow-up from Statistics South Africa and provincial governments on job programmes and factory reopenings.
Further reading
For more on the labour market figures behind this call, see Employment coverage across South Africa.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Scrolla.
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