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December 2015
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Taming the Silent Ticking Time Bomb of Africa

Beginning from the known, according to the Population Research Bureau, Africa has the fastest growing and most youthful population in the world. There are 200million people in Africa between 15 and 24 years of age. This represents about 20% of the population. Over 40% of its population is under 15. Africa’s high fertility rate is responsible for this. This demographic structure mirrors profound challenges and opportunities. The greatest challenge being economic growth which significantly gives birth to social challenges. Tragically, 3 in 5 unemployment people in Africa are young people according to the International Labor Organization. This statistics is 3 times worse than the whole of the Euro zone during the recent economic recession with an average of about 15% of the population under 24. And yet I am convinced there is never a better era and continent for the young people than Africa. The continent is endowed with enormous opportunities; new inventions which will answer questions the continent has never thought to ask. Further still, The World Bank 2008 Report titled ‘Youth Employment in Africa: the potential, the problem and the promise’ highlights youth employment more prevalent in urban areas. This is certainly attributed to the worsening socio-economic conditions in rural areas leading to rural-urban migration. This by default worsens the unemployment challenge in the urban centres. This is clearly evident in many prominent cities in Africa from Cairo to Cape Town.

This vast pool of Unemployed youths end up in anti-social criminal activities that undermine the stability of societies which increases markets risks and discourages domestic and foreign direct investment. Ironically, this unemployment rate is worrisome in all the 7 African countries listed among the 10 fastest growing economies of the world. As a sustainable measure to this perpetual epidemic, regional and continental governments have met frequently to discuss short and long-term solutions to youth unemployment on the Africa continent. Prominently, on 18th February 2009 at the AU delegation meeting in Addis Ababa, African heads of state agreed 2009-2019 as the decade of youth development on the continent. They resolved to increase investments in youth development programmes at national levels which shall create safe, decent and competitive employment opportunities. In the light of this, the Ghanaian government created the National Youth Service for its graduates and also the National Youth Employment Program (NYEP) to secure jobs for the unemployed. Mauritius came up with a National Human resource plan that provides a framework for technical and vocational education. The Ugandan government introduced the Youth likelihood programme to extend low interest loans to youth entrepreneurs. The Zambian government introduced the National Youth policy and Youth Enterprise fund to reduce poverty and create jobs. To our dismay, these seemingly lucrative policies haven’t significantly tamed the youth unemployment crisis. The Chief economist at African Development Bank Prof Ncube says ‘it has become clear that there are no quick fixes to ensuring that all Africa’s young people get off to a good start. Stronger job creation mechanisms grounded in a deliberate strategy for inclusive growth and social development is needed’. This means that addressing the youth unemployment in Africa requires an integrated holistic approach. Shortcuts will not work. Similarly, The World Bank 2008 report advocates for a comprehensive model that caters for rural development, urban-rural migration, preparation of young people for the labor market and investments in agriculture. It’s from such a background that I presume the aim of every government should be to create enabling environment to promote investments. This includes provision of power, maintaining law and order, and adequate security. The justice system must also be strong to facilitate strong contracts and protect mutual trust. Regional integrations such as EAC for East Africa, ECOWAS for West Africa among others must ensure that policies for economic integration are not just on paper but clearly implemented in real terms, across the borders. Minimum standards should be set for products that will cross borders. Free movement of people and goods should be the order of the day, within the limits of regional and international trade treaties.

Education curriculum must be immediately revised to incorporate skills and enterprise development. A special program should be designed for low-skilled youth in vocational centres. Incentives should be provided to Small and Medium Enterprises that promote student internships and voluntary placements. The current state of youth unemployment in Africa require shared responsibilities to tackle it. It will take the ‘Power of We’ to solve it. Businesses will thrive in a safe and secure society. Governments can implement developmental programs only in an atmosphere of peace and security. It is therefore incumbent on governments to work closely with the private sectors to promote internships, graduate trainee programmes, and community-based projects that create jobs for young people. Social Entrepreneurship is a viable tool that can create jobs for many young people. Agriculture is a viable source of investments for young people if it is made attractive. There should be a swift transition from subsistence to commercialized farming. Farm and non-farm activities should be better packaged to make them really attractive. There should also be adequate investment in rural education. This will boost rural opportunities and reduce rural-urban migration and its concomitant challenges. With such a mindset, Africa’s demographic transition becomes an opportunity for Africa to compete internationally. The main challenge is to employ the appropriate policies for the continent to reap from this unique opportunity’. It is my fervent prayer that individuals, organizations, African governments and international governments will make appropriate decisions to exploit this opportunity.

Further still, on a more personal level, I believe it’s time to address youth unemployment in that mindset; as Einstein said, “we can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” In this 21st century, we should stop asking “why me?” and start asking “why not?” Candidly, we must admit that ‘servant-leadership’ is the password to unlock Africa’s potential! History as proved this- The current emerging economies like Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, and Chile among others were at the same level of economic development with most of the African countries like Uganda half a century ago when most of them got independence. Its visionary servant-leadership that has been at the centre of those countries’ paradigm shift to what we see they are. This clearly reveals that it’s self-centered, draconian, long staying politicians with hardly no sustainable long-term policies for their nationals that are perpetually holding this highly lucrative continent backward. That’s why, we clearly see some light at the end of the tunnel for the few African countries that are genuinely addressing the leadership issue.

To the international community, donor community and all the key global player in Africa – Africa, does not need aid and any form of funding to escape from her perpetual viscous cycle of poverty! Time being the best reliable standard measure has proved this. African needs good leadership, nothing more nothing less. We are all aware that all these funds and aid are robbed by draconian self-centered people in positions of power. Let’s be optimistic and accept change and hence be in position to recognize change and possibilities it presents. The American government seems to have released this recently and introduced the “AGOA initiate,” - intended to boost local production in some African countries with the prime aim of direct export to the USA market. Not surprising to me, this initiative’s performance has been crippled due to the self-centered mindset of many African politicians. Therefore, let’s forget misplaced nostalgia and address the heart of the problem. Youth unemployment which accounts for the current sage in migration from Africa to Europe and many other inter-continental challenges has been rising for the last decade; the financial crisis can’t hold all the blame, but it can lecture us to challenge easy assumptions. “Education is getting better” – thanks to the millennium development goals, that have seen many young men and women attain ‘free’ education in most African education- but this is running in the opposite direction to job creation. This means, Education reform should be a priority. At university level, online programmes potentially enable students to better align their courses with their financial abilities, interests and also foster idea sharing amongst the various students. On addition to that, we should sponsor entrepreneurship just like the PayPal co-founder, Peter Thiel, has done with his “20 Under 20” initiative, encouraging innovative young men and women to believe in themselves and overcome fear of failure. And we should drop rigid and costly undergraduate degrees to which we mistakenly still attach totemic significance since there is usually no corresponding return on investment. The school curriculums, too, needs to offer courses with real business value to help school leavers attain the necessary skills to perform duties at work. Employers too have a role to play, many now expect to train and re-train people continuously - so why not start younger? Instead of grumbling that fresh graduates arrive ill-baked, they should rather get in touch with them earlier through professional mentorship. This will not only improve their businesses but also empower young people to discover and determine their destiny.

As an emphasis, let’s encourage mentoring programmes almost in all sectors of life. A few years ago I was honored to work with a Youth mentorship programme with Cornerstone Development Africa ~ which has mentorship programmes in some of the East African’s most deprived areas. We reached out to young people who often had no sense of vision and purpose in life to empower them with skills and knowledge to discover and shape their destinies. I saw how basic leadership skills, reassurance and motivation can go a long way in sparking a paradigm shift in their mindset and hope to confidently determine their futures. As a case study, Senegalese opposition politicians denounced the country’s high unemployment rate to mobilize youth against former President Abdoulaye Wade in the country’s 2012 presidential election. Joblessness was one of the main issues that drove the country’s many young people on to the streets and to the voting stations to nail a change in government. At least six people lost their lives in the election protests, and President Wade was defeated by the current leader, Macky Sall. The main lesson from Senegal’s election violence is that youth unemployment, which was 15 per cent in that country, can fuel the fire of political violence and civil unrest. A World Bank survey in 2011 showed that about 40% of those who join rebel movements say they are motivated by a lack of jobs. On the contrary, however, many African youths in other African countries have failed to pick a leaf from their counter-parts in Senegal even when they are in worse daunt economic conditions! The best example I can sight out in this case is Uganda with a youth unemployment rate at staggering 87%, Ugandan youths (perhaps me inclusive) are failing to overcome the fear of failure and pragmatically cause change of the governance which have been at the helm of power for over 3 decades and shape an inclusive future the vast alienated majority wish to have. Youth account for 60% of all African unemployed, according to the World Bank. In North Africa, the youth unemployment rate is an eyebrow-raising 30%. It is even worse as earlier highlighted in Uganda, Botswana, the Republic of Congo, Senegal, South Africa and several other countries.

Statistics show that young women feel the pinch of unemployment even more deeply. The African Development Bank found that in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and all of those in North Africa, it is easier for men to get jobs than it is for women, even if given the fact that they have equivalent skills, experience and age. The Brookings Institution, a Washington-based public policy organization that conducts independent research. More than 70% of the youth in the “Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda are either self-employed or contributing to family subsistence work,” adds the report. Many jobless university graduates and uneducated youths in Kampala, Uganda are into gambling, locally known as ‘sports betting’. Am sure this is also true to many unemployed youths of the Sub-Saharan African whose option to migrate to Europe is almost impossible due to their geographical disadvantage. To others that are fairly lucky, in Uganda and across the continent, they are engaged in menial jobs. “They clean floors in hotels, sell telephone calling cards, air time cards for mobile telephone calling on streets— some even work in factories as laborers.” The Brookings Institution considers underemployment as a serious problem, significant enough to demand for greater attention since it masks the reality in countries that score low unemployment rates. Finally, as I have earlier lamented, “leadership crisis is a ticking time bomb,” which now vividly appears to be perilously close to exploding as seen in the recent very high youth unemployment rates across the continent, influx of migration from Africa to Europe across the Mediterranean sea in pursuit of better living standards, civil unrests, and deteriorating climate and environmental patterns. At this point; it’s never an African but global challenge and hence calling for peculiar policies to address these issues in my humble opinion.

By: Ibrahim Mpwabe