SUB-SAHARAN Africa has the fastest population growth projected between now and 2050. It also has the highest youth population in the world.
According to the African Economic Outlook published by the African Development Bank, with almost 200 million people aged between 15 and 24, Africa has the youngest population in the world. This has kept growing rapidly. By 2045, this number of young people will double. This poses serious challenges for governments in the region to consider ways of ensuring that their national budgets factor in ways of increasing employment for youths.
We welcome Bank of Zambia Governor Michael Gondwe observation that creation of viable jobs for youths is a precondition for Africas poverty eradication, sustainable development and peace.
Unemployment in many regions in Africa can be a recipe for instability and a stumbling block to meet the Millennium Development Goals.
In Zambia, Government has on various occasions expressed concern that four million youths in the country are unemployed, which represents about 25 percent of the population.
During a recent strategic planning session for the implementation of affirmative action for youth empowerment and job creation in the transport and construction sector, Government noted that failure to absorb youth unemployment could result in substantial loss of gross domestic product (GDP).
Zambia and Africa have in the past decade outperformed most of the world in GDP, yet youth unemployment remains a serious challenge.
There is no doubt that some policy measures have tried to address unemployment, but like Dr Gondwe says, Zambia and other developing countries have a long way to go. Some policy measures have seen a reasonable number of jobs created but very few jobs for the youth. For instance, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that between 2000 and 2008 Africa created 73 million jobs, but only 16 million for young people aged between 15 and 24. Consequently, many young Africans find themselves unemployed or, more frequently, underemployed in informal jobs despite many attaining secondary education.
Fifty-nine percent of African youths between 20 and 24 year old will have had secondary education by 2030, compared to 42 today, implying that demand for better jobs is fast growing. African countries, including Zambia, need to modernise their economies using the swiftly increasing reservoir of human capital to channel it towards the productive sectors of the economy. Experts observe that in view of restructuring and downsizing of the public sectors, a vigorous private sector is the most important source of jobs for young people.
A paper entitled “The Economics of the Arab Spring”, Malik and Awadallah (2011), points to the singular failure of the Arab world to develop a private sector that is independent, competitive and integrated into global markets as the main cause of the uprising. An African Economic Outlook analysis of 53 countries in Africa reveals that a lack of sufficient job creation is by far the biggest hurdle young Africans face today.
We are therefore urging stakeholders to reflect on Dr Gondwe’s remarks that Africa’s youth unemployment poses challenges and opportunities. There are many opportunities which Zambia and other African countries can get with the increasing educated youth population as they offer opportunities for readily available labour to enhance production.
When more producers enhance agro-produce, this can increase production and lead to more employment for the youths and avoid pitfalls of high unemployment which can range from crime, prostitution and even political instability in worse cases.
From: Zambia Daily Mail