BY ABEBE WOLDEGIORGIS
Studies indicate that the rate of unemployed in Ethiopia’s urban centers and rural parts rose to 20 and 30 percent respectively. As the size of the country’s economy is small and it largely relies on agriculture, this has its own effect and limitations in boosting the capacity for job creation to the masses.
In addition to other factors, the macroeconomic imbalance also poses a huge challenge in creating adequate job opportunities for citizens. Nevertheless, the government tried its level best to create job opportunities for thousands and in the process registered encouraging achievements.
During its recent meeting, the National Job Creation Commission announced that during the first six months of the current fiscal year, the country has managed to create 1.6 jobs for citizens.
According to the Federal Job creation Commission Commissioner Nigusu Tilahun, as the Commission is planning to create three million jobs by the end of the budget year, it has so far achieved 56 percent of the plan in the first six months of the budget year alone. The performance is also slightly better than that of last year same time.
During this time, there is also disparity among the performances of different regions as some perform better than others.
The job creation plan gives more emphasis to the agriculture sector to play a crucial role but it was the service sector that absorbed more labor than other sectors.
While the Commission planned that 80 percent of the jobs to be created for the budget year would be permanent, as to the six-month performance, it has only achieved 62 percent of the plan so far.
Oromia and Amhara regional states as well as the Addis Ababa City Administration took the lion’s share of the jobs created nationally so far. This showed they performed better in attracting investors.
But there are limitations in ensuring inclusiveness in the job creation scheme. For instance, in terms of gender, it was planned to give 50 percent of the job opportunities to females, only 35 percent of the job opportunities went to women while the rest went to males.
When it is compared to the previous year, more males accessed jobs than females. As to Nigusu, to change the disparity, it is important to provide training to companies regarding the management of human resources.
Among the weaknesses witnessed in the job creation scheme, lack of coordination among various stakeholders and the absence of vital information to the pertinent officials are mentioned as critical problems.
During the discussion, some participant suggested that creating job opportunities for 1.6 million people in the time when the nation faced various challenges including COVID 19 and political crisis is taken as strength. Yet as compared to the high rate of unemployment, it is not sufficient and there is a need to exert more efforts to create more permanent jobs.
Speaking about the situation in Amhara regional state, State President Agenehu Teshager said that entrepreneurs access land in the region only temporarily and this has become a challenge them to invest more and create more jobs in their respective businesses. They were also unable to expand their businesses due to the limited working spaces.
the land problem is more prevalent for enterprises that are engaged in fattening cattle and producing milk. There is also uncertainty in terms of accessing finance.
Hence efforts should be exerted to change the land lease law which has become an obstacle in getting access to finance. Unless the policy is improved, enhancing the pace of job creation is unthinkable.
There are an increasing number of unemployed graduates and this also needs the government’s attention. The nation allocated more money to teach and train the youth. Therefore, unless they access jobs by whatever means, it costs their opportunity and it is a loss to the nation.
Chaltu Sani who is an official from Oromia region on her part said that the region is planning to create 1.25 million jobs this budget year and as of November, it was possible to create permanent jobs for 267 thousand citizens.
The Addis Ababa City Deputy Mayor and Social Cluster head Jantrar Abay said that job creation is a priority agenda to the city administration and to achieve the goal, a lot of work and strong commitment is required. Currently, there is a huge gap between the number of job seekers and available jobs in the market. To bridge the gap, more jobs should be created. But it is not an easy task and needs a huge amount of finance.
The National Council for Job creation head, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonen on his part said that special emphasis was given to job creation by the government. To create citizens who are responsible and discharge their respective duty, creating job is essential. In addition, achieving economic growth is vital.
The Ethiopian Herald February 26/2021
