The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, has stated that the time has come for Africa to add real value to its youth to guarantee them jobs.
Dr Chambas, who is also a Commissioner of the Africa Commission, set up by the Danish government to find solutions to youth unemployment in Africa, said the continent had for a long time not developed the capacity of its youth and now that it had put conflicts, diseases and economic downturns behind it, it should develop the capacity of its youth in order to stay on the path of economic growth and development.
He was speaking in Accra at the third thematic conference of the Africa Commission on Youth and Unemployment.
The Africa Commission is made up of eminent African and Danish personalities and was set up by the Danish government in April this year to make concrete and feasible recommendations for which the Danish government had already made funding commitments.
The Accra conference last Friday followed similar ones on Educational Challenge in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in June this year, and on Women and Employment last month in Maputo, Mozambique, that the Africa Commission Secretariat is organising in Africa to discuss areas of critical importance in addressing youth unemployment.
Two other such conferences would be held on Climate Change in Nairobi, Kenya, later this month, and on Economic Growth in Kampala, Uganda, next month, as part of meeting the objective of presenting a report by the middle of next year on how international development co-operation can support the African youth by creating jobs in Africa.
"Having put the conflicts behind us, democracy is deepening and economic growth is in view and if we must keep on that track, what we do with our youth is important," Dr Chambas submitted.
Asked whether the Africa Commission was not a duplication of similar efforts by the West to support Africa’s development, Dr Chambas said it was rather complementary to the many initiatives that only added impetus to Africa’s development efforts.
In addition, the exclusive focus on the youth was unprecedented and the right way to go, he said.
Working in groups of six to come out with different solutions, the Youth and Employment conference came out with many proposals including the need to create better access to finance for small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs).
This will include helping banks to develop unique financial products for SMEs, as well as providing guarantees for them to lend on long term to the small businesses, which are known for their massive job creating potential.
The conference also identified education and capacity building, and a full-scale value chain support for industries, particularly for agricultural processing as priority areas.
That would lead to public-private partnerships in identifying viable and job-creating avenues in the economy.
The Danish Minister for Development Co-operation, Ms Ulla Tornas, said the Danish government was bent on implementing recommendations of the Commission to the letter.
"We believe that the high level representation on the commission will help send a positive signal to the African community to prepare to take the lead in implementation," she said.
The development co-operation minister said it was the view of the Danish government that developing the capacity of the youth and creating jobs for them were sure ways of ensuring security and democratic stability on the continent.
Story by Samuel Doe Ablordeppey
