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Ethiopia is both an ancient land and a young
country; ancient, in terms of civilisation, culture
and history and young, in terms of age of its
people. More than 70pc of the people are reported to
be below the age of 35. The youth have higher
opportunities to reproduce faster and accelerate the
geometric progression of population growth which
entails demands for basic necessities including
food, shelter, clothing, health and education
services.
The youth of today face challenges of various
natures. In the case of Ethiopia, the number of the
youth by itself is a major threat to their future
not to speak of the deep-rooted poverty that
prevails in the country. The country could be an
ancient country in terms of civilisation and
cultural heritage but very young when seen in the
light of the age of the people.
Population explosion as well as the depletion of
natural resources due to various factors forcing the
youth to migrate to the capital and other places is
a serious problem to be reckoned with. Unless the
appropriate steps are taken in good time, the
limited carrying capacity of the country cannot
warrant any kind of sustainable development that
would be able to support the coming generation. A
lot is being done to combat these threats.
Political leaders in today's world have long
realised that the youth have to be taken seriously
and their problems have to be addressed squarely
without any delay. This fact has not escaped the
notice of the ruling party of Ethiopia.
Two weeks ago over 1,500 youngsters had an audience
with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi who obviously
enjoyed answering various queries coming from the
youth. This meeting was also meant to address the
whole youth of the nation via the mass media. He
made it crystal clear that the future fate of this
country lies in the hands of the youth. Poverty
reduction, good governance, economic growth and
building democracy are some of the responsibilities
to be shouldered by the youth of today.
This can only be tangible if the youth are free from
poverty and unemployment in the first place.
Unemployment is a major shortcoming that has to be
dealt with robustly. Bayou (22) and Kassa (20) are
brethren migrants who came to Addis a few years back
from Gojam. The fragmented piece of land which they
had acquired from their parents could not carry
them. The land has been ploughed for many centuries
without degradation as the resulted.
They had to find alternatives other than tilling the
land and could not get land to be tilled unless they
moved to new settlements very far away from home.
They had heard stories about people from Gojam and
other places migrating to Addis and making it from
rags to riches. They had therefore decided to run
away to the capital and try to struggle to make ends
meet.
Hutesso (23) from the Southern Region has a more or less
similar story of his own. His birth area is densely
populated. There is no land to till and therefore He
had to flee to Addis with a couple of other friends.
Hutesso and his friends engaged in the business of shoe
shining. At first they could not be any wiser. In
due course, however, what they were paying for a
decent meal in their terms could not cover a frugal
breakfast of bread and tea.
There are thousands of youngsters leading a
dependent life for the greater part of their lives.
The informal sector of little trades and odd
engagements is only a temporary solution if it is
one at all. There are millions of Bayous and
Hutessos all over the country; vending lottery
tickets and shoe polishing activities are not
commensurate with the capacities of the able bodied
youth. This is underemployment.
Knowing the problems and the interests of the youth ought
to be of paramount importance for any party that
wants to try to address their problems. After
satisfying their basic needs for instance, many
youngsters could be interested in football. They may
be well versed with the clubs, coaches and players
of most teams. Supporting the English Premier League
or the Spanish or the Italian Football is a venture
welcomed by the youth.
Many are very critical of the government not taking
Ethiopian football progress seriously. The fishy
ailment that has prevailed for years within the
Football Federation cartel ought to have been
rectified once and for all if the Ethiopian football
gate is to find any solution. These are just
examples cited to hint the interest areas of the
youth.
Take the case of having a National Public Hall or Library
in Addis Abeba, the capital of a country rich in
history and cultural heritage but poor in libraries
and museums. The British Council should be
appreciated for its library in long service and
short trainings it delivers occasionally.
Many youngsters spend their valuable time loitering and
perhaps watching video films of pornography or
chewing khat. There are very few playgrounds
in the city worth mentioning. Any open space in the
villages is taken over by city officials for other
projects or other investors whose interest is only
to make money by real estate development. The youth
are out of development plans either in the process
of preparing the plans or implementing them. This
has to be addressed.
As far as solving unemployment is concerned, the private
investor is expected to bear the chunk of the load.
Small-scale enterprises in particular can invest in
undertakings that employ the job-seeking youth. This
is of course easier said than done.
Let us take the simple example of an enterprising
businessman who wants to open up a small enterprise
somewhere down town. The first encounter is the
renting problem. The landlord leases the house at an
exorbitant price for only a short period of six
months, at the end of which time he comes with a
warning to evict you. This is too short a period of
time for you to run your business at the breakeven
point.
Prices of goods and services escalate sky high beyond your
plans and means. You may have the beautiful idea of
building your own house somewhere. You have to have
a leased plot of land the price of which is a good
part of your total investment amount. You cannot
manage to materialise your ideals.
Even with a plot the building materials are so expensive
that your investment plan is aborted before it sees
the light of day.
These are some of the more real issues that must be
addressed.
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