Government striving to diminish youth unemployment problems
Gemechu Tussa
According to the 1999 medium variant projection, Ethiopia’s population was estimated at 63.5 million out of which 17.9 million or 28.2 percent were youth. Of these, 17.9 percent and 82.1 percent were living in urban and rural areas respectively. The 2004 projection also indicated that 28.4 percent of the population was a youth.
The number of youth population has ever increased as the country has become one of the populous African countries. The increasing number of youth with inquiring and demanding motives for its rights in the past twenty five years didn’t go in line with the job opportunity created despite the million of youths that got various chances. The government has now given a priority to reduce unemployment meaningfully.
Recently, stakeholders met in Adam town to discuss about the use of the fund the government of Ethiopia has allocated to reduce unemployment through financing youth-centered projects. The youth organizations, banks, micro financial institutions and other stakeholders are expected to play the leading role to use the revolving fund for the targeted goal. It is known that there are about 2.9 million unemployed youth in urban and rural areas. All the preparations are nearing completion to make them beneficiaries of the fund.
As it was mentioned before, more than 900 branches of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) and 1,700 micro financial institutions have been readied to ensure access to loan services. The National Youth Policy of Ethiopia marks a major step in recognizing and promoting the rights of young people in the country. Established in 2004, the policy aims to bring about the active participation of youth in the building of a democratic system and enhance good governance.
It was a recent history that the youth in Ethiopia were vulnerable to various man-made and natural challenges. Even in recent times the youth population faces a number of health challenges, including inadequate access to sexual and reproductive health information, prevalence of HIV/AIDS, and persistent gender inequalities. These problems coupled with scarce of job opportunities.
According to evidences from the Ministry of Youth, about half of Ethiopian women aged 20-24 were married by the age of 18 and 46 percent of them had given birth by the age of 20. Ethiopia made progress in improving youth’s education: From 2005 to 2014 the net enrolment rate in primary schools rose from 60.5 to 85.85 percent. The literacy rate of people aged 15-24 years is estimated to have risen to 69.48 percent.
Secondary school enrolment rose from 13 percent in 1999 to 36 percent in 2012. That has increased in following years. World Bank reports indicated that Ethiopia spent 26.3 percent of the government’s expenditure and 4.5 percent of the country’s GDP on education provision in 2013. Ethiopian youth has the potential to play a significant role in the country’s socio-economic and political development. That is why
The National Youth Policy recognizes the importance of youth participation in an organized manner in building democratic system and ensures good governance. There are many barriers that hinder youth’s active participation in socio-economic, political and cultural life, including persistent gender inequality and poverty.
The government has undertaken measures that enable the youth to be citizens with democratic outlook, professional competence, skill and ethics so that they can actively, efficiently and widely participate in and benefit from the country’s ongoing activities that are aimed at attaining a democratic system and accelerated development.
Needless to say, the active participation of all segments of the society is an important element to bring about accelerated political, economic, social and cultural development in any country. Since the youth are not only receptive to new ideas, but also have the potential capacity for creativity and productivity, they can play a major role in all sectors of development.
Priorities and serious attention have been given to train the youth in various skills with a view to effectively alleviate poverty and ensure self confidence to facilitate conditions under which the youth would be participants and beneficiaries of all the developments gained in the country.
The Ethiopian youth has carried out multi-faceted activities under the various political systems and during the country’s various historical moments. They had worked together in a spirit of unity whenever issues or problems of national interest cropped up. During the early days when opportunities for acquiring a modern education were practically nonexistent, Ethiopian youth contributed towards accelerating the economic development of their country by engaging themselves in activities related to agriculture and handicrafts. They were also simultaneously engaged in the defense of their country against external aggressors.
During the Derg regime, the youth was isolated from participating in the socioeconomic and political affairs of the country. However, a large number of youth sacrificed their lives in their struggle to ensure the protection of people’s human and democratic rights. And their prolonged struggle and the sacrifice they have paid have brought our country to the present stage where the process of building a democratic system is underway.
Different studies indicated a significant number of the country’s population is below the absolute poverty line and the youth is the segment of the society hit severely. Large numbers of rural youth are migrating to urban areas in search of better opportunities. However, job opportunities are scarce in the urban areas and many of them are exposed to various social evils.
The family, community, schools, the media, cultural institutions and religious organizations are the major institutions from which youth assimilates cultural values. The objective conditions nonetheless indicate that the youth are, at present, not getting the required services as desired from these institutions. A considerable number of youth does not have a full knowledge of their cultural values; instead they are entangled in foreign degenerate cultures, have become victims of harmful traditional as well as to unethical practices and exposed to various other social evils.
The youth are expected to ensure their safety and well-being by properly participating in the efforts made at national level to prevent the environmental pollution that is being presently witnessed and the negative impact of technological products. In this regard, there are no favorable conditions under which the youth would make contributions on their part by participating in activities related to soil and water conservation, forestation, heritage protection and other environmental preservation activities.
We have to note what EPRDF has arguing that the dissatisfaction of the people particularly the youth is due to the mismatch of the opportunities created so far and the rising number of the young. It is believed that the major achievements that benefited the majority of the people at various levels are remarkable. However, the demands of the growing population have been also increasing challenging the government to satisfy the people.
The country has given a priority to education and health in the past twenty five years. As a result, about thirty-two universities were constructed and furnished with facilities though there are some gaps in fully equipped them and challenges in ensuring quality.
Tens of thousands of students graduate every year from those universities and other technical and vocational colleges. But the jobs created in the country for these huge productive forces. The rising number of unemployment in the country has created dissatisfaction among the youth and their parents.
The Federal Government and Regional States have recognized this crucial problem and planning to create as many jobs as possible to minimize unemployment in the country. According to available sources from Federal Urban Job Creation and Food Security Agency disclosed 1.8 million jobs were created by micro and small enterprises last Ethiopian budget year. The next plan indicates that the government has a plan to create more than 8 million jobs by the end of the second Growth and Transformation Plan.
The government has created about millions of jobs in the past twenty five years. This is not simple but it is insufficient as the number of the population has rising fast in the past twenty five years.
The Ethiopian government accomplished various activities to enhance tolerance and peaceful coexistence among nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia. It gave recognitions to ethnic and religious diversities; thereby, paved the ground for equal opportunity to all citizens that enabled the ruling party to enjoy some successes.
One of the most important successes of EPRDF is realizing the unity of nations, nationalities and peoples’ of Ethiopia and strengthening the emerging democracy. Ethiopians incredibly managed to strengthen their unison, which is one of the significant achievements. The youth in all the regions including the developing ones have got chances to various job opportunities as those in developed regions due equal access to education.
There should be balanced viewing of the changes and the problems within those changes. In general speaking, it would be better to see the lights at the end of the tunnel so that it is crucial for the youth to guard and maintain its peace and then straggling against corrupt and rent seekers in collaboration with the government.
There are individuals or groups that have gloomy understanding of the country. However, in the real situation on the ground, everything isn’t gloomy rather Ethiopia has a bright future. In some cases, there is justice. One of the important issues that has to be considered into account is the faire development distribution in all regions. These development efforts have been benefiting a number of youth in each respective region.
The youth have to understand what causes the problems and work in collaboration with the government so as to alleviate major obstacles retarding the beneficiaries of the youth from the socioeconomic developments. The efforts that have made in the past twenty five years to alleviate poverty, enhance democracy and ensure sustainable developments have benefited a remarkable number of youth.
If there are further consolidated efforts, for all the youth in the country could be benefited. However, this is only possible if there is peace and stability. The unemployment dissatisfaction of the youth will be solved if only there is only peace. The youth all over the country must, therefore, first devote to ensure peace; thereby, will be benefited from the country’s development.