Unemployment is a universal and an inevitable phenomenon that has society-wide socio-economic impacts. Mainly, in developing countries, like Ethiopia, where the youths make up almost half of the population and growing steadily, unemployment remains to be a major challenge that imposes multidimensional impacts over the nations.
Despite economic status, countries have been struggling to tackle the impacts that come along with it and taking various measures. They have been working more on job opportunities to provide jobs for the increasing number of youth population though the result may not be as desired.
Over the years, Ethiopia, like most countries, has also been carrying out activities to create jobs for citizens. Apart from creating job opportunities, the nation has been providing supports – professional, technical, financial as well as working offering shades and display areas to promote the skill of entrepreneurship and enhance citizens’ self-employment opportunity.
As a result, the Federal Urban Job Creation and Food Security Agency has registered promising performance towards implementing its plans over the last six months; as to Behailu Negussie, Agency’s Communication Expert.
He noted that the Agency has created jobs for more than 596 thousand citizens in six months. It was able to create jobs for 406,453 citizens in the sectors like manufacturing, construction, urban agriculture, trade and service sectors.
Amongst the jobs created by the Agency, around 59,834 were for university and TVET graduates. Of which, while around 272,976 were permanent jobs the rest were temporary.
As for the Agency’s plan to create jobs in government’s mega projects, it has granted jobs for 189, 776, of which, 81,687 is permanent job.
The Agency has also created permanent jobs for citizens in states such as Amhara 56 percent, Afar 98 percent, Gambella 86.6percent, Oromia 68 percent, Tigray 58 percent, SNNPs 58 percent, Harari 63 percent, Benshangul gumuz 56 percent, Somali 62 percent, Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa city Administrations 65.9 and 35.5percent, according to him.
Likewise, the Agency has offered short term trainings for 299, 006 prospective graduates and novices to enable them develop their careers. From the total job opportunity created by the Agency, around 245,737 women have benefitted, he remarked.
Concurrently, it was also possible to develop the culture of saving within members and save nearly five billion birr, of which, 13.7 million birr was deposited by students.
According to him, so far a total of 4.7 billion birr loan is given for 44,511 enterprises. Comparing with previous year’s same period, the performance of the loan provided to enterprises has augmented by 48 percent.
In relation to providing land that could be used to build shades and for enterprises mainly engaged in agriculture, the Agency has distributed around 1036 hectares of land for both purposes.
As to Agency’s six month report, around 63,381 enterprises were transferred to various levels. As a result, it has transferred 9857 and 133 enterprises to small and medium enterprises respectively. And, Tigray, Oromia and Addis Ababa as well have shown better performance in the process. Compared with last year’s same period, the progress has shown a five percent increment.
As it is set to the second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II) of creating 8.4 million jobs under government’s megaprojects and regular jobs, it has so far provided jobs for 6.5 million within 4 years and a half, which is 77 percent of the plan.
Mentioning that the target was set to create jobs for 8.4 million citizens – (for 6.1 million in government-funded mega projects and 2.3 million in regular jobs) in the past four years and six months of the second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II), a total of 6.5 million citizens- 5.1 and 1.3 million citizens – have benefited from jobs created in regular and government mega projects respectively. By doing so, the Agency executed its plan by 83.6 and 56.5 percent correspondingly.
The Ethiopian Herald February 5/2020
BY BETELHEM BEDLU
