Tleane, who is the managing director of a youth-oriented leadership development organization - Agape Youth Movement, is of the view that the country’s youth, who are grappling with a number of challenges, have what it takes to turn their fortunes.

There are thorny issues giving South African youth sleepless nights: high levels of unemployment, crime and violence, limited opportunities in pursuit of education and entrepreneurship, teenage pregnancies, and poverty are some of the battles confronting young people, whose hopes seem to be on a downward spiral.

Tleane is adamant young people can make a huge difference by taking progressive steps.

Their livelihoods are affected and they are not economically active which that takes a toll on them as psychosocial beings hence I think that we need to firstly work on their resilience, what can we do? we can't deny these external shocks that can make young people feel hopeless but there's definitely a little bit that we could do to strengthen their resilience so that in light of this series of challenges, they can stand and move forward,” said Tleane.

Tleane’s organization works closely with the government, private sector, and social and civil society organizations on programs geared at lifting young people from the doldrums brought by socio-economic challenges.

Tleane, who is a former development advisor at the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), says the point of departure should be to capacitate and augment the youth’s mental fortitude.

There's an issue of bargaining drama, high suicide rates among young people, there are high levels of substance abuse and we to a certain extent, should address our young people's capacity to deal with some of these,” said the Communication Science graduate from the University of Johannesburg.

In the next few months, South Africans are headed to the polls and Tleane believes the elections present an opportunity for young people to have a say in building the future of the country they want.

“I think the young people of this country need to understand that to a certain level they have a role to play in the direction that that country takes, they can't be passive passengers, voting is one of the ways through which we see that we are participating in the future, in creating the future of the country that we want, especially when we are the ones that appear to be the ones who will be there in the future, because chances are we are going to inherit this country from the current leaders, irrespective of the sector and level of leadership seniority,” said the University of Cape Town Masters student.

Tleane furthermore alludes that there must be concerted efforts to address the social ills impeding the progress of the youth.

He is of the view that young people need to be involved in key sectors where important decisions are made.

I would be comforted if the rate of the programs in place matches the challenges faced, young people can change the status quo and its time to stand and be counted," reiterated Tleane, who boasts close to a decade in the youth and development sector.