Radar | Aug 29,2020
Dec 10 , 2018
By
The City Administration of Addis Abeba will open over 161,000 jobs opportunities to citizens in this fiscal year. But perhaps “open” may be the wrong term here, as it literally offered the jobs away.
Federal ministries will hire seven percent of that number, while youth in small and medium-sized enterprises will get contracts for dry waste management, green landscape and housing and road construction projects.
This is not too dissimilar from the city administration giving preferential treatment to unemployed youth. It is also not that far off from regional and city governments awarding various projects whose contracts have been terminated, for a myriad of reasons, to youth associations.
This is not a bad thing, but it begs the question, how long can city and regional governments continue - what essentially is - hiring youth to alleviate joblessness?
It will not be too long. Such initiatives will indeed help stimulate the economy, but it will not sustain economic productivity. Given how the authorities are expected to evaluate projects, youth associations or small businesses engaged in government contracts cannot be allowed too much flexibility. Non-performance or underperformance comes at the expense of taxpayers’ money.
No doubt, this would allow the youth an opportunity to gain experience and one day get promoted. But this is not the problem, per se.
The issue is where will they get promoted to? Worse still, what should happen when, as is the case today, new labour force entrants are more numerous than the volume of job opportunities that could be offered?
Of the things that Ethiopia has an abundance of, it is the youth. They are politically engaged, vibrant and ready to learn. They are also in need of jobs that pay salaries that can, if not allow an annual vacation overseas, be able to cover food, housing and transportation costs.
There is a reason to be ever worried about the youth, since agriculture’s share of employment will continue to shrink.
Agriculture does not have either the financial or socio-cultural weight to stir the youth to join its industry. Most farmers in Ethiopia are still engaged in subsistence farming, thus making a profession in agriculture less than attractive. This is not to mention, despite its importance, the negative cultural image that has been built of it over the decades.
But even if these do not serve as sufficient push factors, population growth leading to less and less land being parcelled out between family members, will be a major blow. It is leaving many without a choice but to turn to industry or join the urban hubbub and look for an employment opportunity in the service sector.
Those growing population numbers and shrinking farm sizes - and this is without factoring in the ominous prediction about the effects of global warming - mean that a lot of job opportunities need to be opened in the service and industry sectors. Otherwise, the thriving red-light districts, the protesting youth, the homeless children and small-scale crimes of today will only be a prelude to a much larger crisis in store for the country in the future.
The regional and city government should continue to support youth by engaging them in projects they can undertake. But this alone will not address joblessness.
The fundamental problem in Ethiopia is a lack of productivity in the private sector. This is not a matter of a lack of foreign currency; that is only the symptom. It has to do with government policies that have curtailed the flexible movement or utilisation of resources, such as land or foreign currency, necessary for wealth creation.
Add to this the antagonistic relationship between businesses and the government, where the policies in place are enacted with the objective of regulating instead of providing an enabling environment. The bureaucracy is also unprofessional and the main service subsectors are under the monopoly of state enterprises.
Unless these change, the investments in infrastructure will not pay off, the government will continue to shoulder the burden of directly giving away jobs and citizens will be discontented.
PUBLISHED ON
Dec 10,2018 [ VOL
19 , NO
972]
Radar | Aug 29,2020
Radar | May 31,2020
Fortune News | Nov 27,2022
Life Matters | Jun 26,2021
Verbatim | Jun 24,2023
Verbatim | Dec 07,2019
Films Review | Sep 10,2022
Radar | May 18,2019
Fortune News | Feb 01,2020
Radar | Apr 17,2020
Photo Gallery | 96818 Views | May 06,2019
Photo Gallery | 88997 Views | Apr 26,2019
My Opinion | 67192 Views | Aug 14,2021
Commentaries | 65769 Views | Oct 02,2021
Feb 24 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
Abel Yeshitila, a real estate developer with a 12-year track record, finds himself unable to sell homes in his latest venture. Despite slash...
Feb 10 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
In his last week's address to Parliament, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) painted a picture of an economy...
Jan 7 , 2024
In the realm of international finance and diplomacy, few cities hold the distinction that Addis Abeba doe...
Sep 30 , 2023 . By AKSAH ITALO
On a chilly morning outside Ke'Geberew Market, Yeshi Chane, a 35-year-old mother cradling her seven-month-old baby, stands amidst the throng...
Apr 20 , 2024
In a departure from its traditionally opaque practices, the National Bank of Ethiopia...
Apr 13 , 2024
In the hushed corridors of the legislative house on Lorenzo Te'azaz Road (Arat Kilo)...
Apr 6 , 2024
In a rather unsettling turn of events, the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (C...
Mar 30 , 2024
Ethiopian authorities find themselves at a crossroads in the shadow of a global econo...
Apr 20 , 2024
Ethiopia's economic reform negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are in their fourth round, taking place in Washington, D...
Apr 20 , 2024 . By BERSABEH GEBRE
An undercurrent of controversy surrounds the appointment of founding members of Amhara Bank after regulat...
An ambitious cooperative housing initiative designed to provide thousands with affordable homes is mired...
Apr 20 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Ethiopia's juice manufacturers confront formidable economic challenges following the reclassification of...