VIEWPOINT President Koroma’s ‘’Agenda For Change’’, Youth Unemployment And Consolidation Of Peace And Stability Posted by Michael Massaquoi on Jan 31, 2010, 11:11

Sierra Leone, a post-conflict country, has abundant natural resources, yet remains among the poorest countries in the world, due in large part to the war which left a negative GDP growth rate that had to be overcome before economic gains could be used to address poverty and development. 

‘’Through much hard work to increase growth to 6-7%, lowering fiscal and external account deficits, reducing domestic borrowing and steadying the exchange rate and prices, the country has achieved great progress’’ a recent Country Programme Action Plan 2008-2010 developed jointly by the Government of Sierra Leone and UNDP states.

 Despite these gains, however, root causes of the conflict have yet to be fully addressed, including issues of corruption, youth unemployment and disengagement, gender inequality, and political and economic exclusion. 

Moreover, there are still roughly 70% of the population living below the national poverty line, affecting rural areas and youth disproportionately.  Apart from the broad spectrum of poverty as a significant issue of concern in Sierra Leone is the current state of affairs regarding the country’s likely failure to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

Of grave concern too is the growing number of unemployed youth population, this being considered as a compounding problem to other factors that could undermine the peace building efforts in the country. The international community has been acquiesced with the peace building efforts of the government checks and balance to prevent corruption, job creation, tolerance for a free press as well as promotion of gender equity as demonstrated in the passage of the anti-corruption Bill of 2008 with prosecutorial powers and the three gender bills respectively but dealing with the issue of youth disengagement has not been dealt with at an accelerated pace not until a Bill was enacted granting autonomy to the youth commission as an independent entity.

For now, youth unemployment and empowerment must remain top on the priority list of peace building initiatives now that energy and agricultural sectors are being successfully harnessed following the completion of Bumbuna projects and the development of agribusiness strategy respectively. 

The government cannot afford to let things remain the same. The streets of Freetown and major towns in the provinces are swarming with armies of unemployed youth, many of them on the look out for menial temporary work for quick money. As early as 7am the major streets in the capital are strewn with desperate and starry-eyed youth hoping to make money by undertaking various tasks, at least for those who are lucky to get such opportunity.

The commercial motorbike transport (OKADA) serves as a major outlet for thousands of youth to make a living in a country where jobs are hard to come by, and no day passes by when two out of ten youth will not obtain a motorbike driving licence.

This is more so because the Okada business appeared to have become a lucrative business in the transport sector with several government officials and police officers reportedly having huge stakes in the business, and thereby making it easy for some of the youth to obtain a licence without meeting the necessary criteria. 

President Koroma’s concern about the surge in unemployed youth population and the overwhelming armies of ‘’young bikers’’ warranted the decision to place the general welfare of the youth at the heart of the ‘’Agenda for Change’’ framework. The President and his government have acknowledged that a staggering youth population will not only deprive the country of its most valuable human resource but if not checked, could result in social unrest and threaten the country’s peace and security.

 Concerns about the disengagement of an increasing youth population have often and again resonated in various messages from the international community. The United Nations Peace Building Commission (PBC) and the Department for International Development (DFID) continue to urge the government and opposition political parties to take youth unemployment and empowerment very seriously.

The Peace building Commission Country-Specific configuration has highlighted in its engagement with the government that youth unemployment and empowerment should remain a priority, and government must tackle the issue head on if the country is to enjoy sustainable peace and stability.  Youth unemployment and empowerment is expected to take the centre ground of the discourse of peace building activities during the visit of the Chair of the Country- Specific Configuration and a delegation of UN members in March this year.

In a recent meeting with a senior official of the Department for International Development (DFID) at the country office at Spur Road, there was a message of optimism about the progress the country is making in its efforts to promote democratic governance following successful democratic elections.  The official was however sceptical about government’s commitment to addressing widespread poverty, in particular, unemployment among the youth population.

He described the situation as grave adding the unemployed youth population is a flash point for potential political confrontation. The official was particularly concerned about the role of political leaders including opposition parties in tackling the current problems facing the youth population bearing in mind the susceptibility of the youth population to inducement and political violence.

As President Koroma has stated that the Agenda for Change ‘’reflects the peoples’ belief that the government they elected in a free and fair election will work in partnership with them to improve their social and economic conditions’’, it is imperative on the government to respond to the needs of the youth with a deep commitment to building a democratic, prosperous and tolerant nation, in which the ties of friendship, citizenship and kingship triumph over divisive efforts of extremists. 

The creation of the Youth Commission is laudable since it will empower the youth to develop their potential for national development. The Commission should not only be seen as an entity symbolising  government efforts  in tackling youth unemployment, but must be seen to be working and delivering- engaging and interpreting President Koroma’s commitment; assisting the creation of employment opportunities for the youth and develop medium and long-term strategies to tackle youth unemployment in  the country.

The Commission should articulate international modules of both the United Kingdom and US, in particular, by collaborating with employment related Charity Organisations like CENTREPOINT, a UK-based Charity organisation with Prince William as Grand Chief Patron which works with young homeless unemployed youth to access employment training opportunities and increase their chances of employability.  The youth Commission could explore a variety of opportunities including exchange of job related information, seeks support from its international counterparts to develop a comprehensive national youth development plan consistent with national poverty reduction strategies.

No body wants to see a Youth Commission becomes a white elephant with its staff preoccupied driving air conditioned SUVs across the country while the marginalisation of the youth population continue to deepen with no jobs, no hope and no life. It will be a time bomb in the offing.