Africa will need to invest in its water bodies to cope with the huge number of unemployment and thereby realize sustainable peace and development. An economic development which focuses on effective utilization of water bodies is lucrative.
A large number of employment opportunities can be created through launching intensive development of urban rivers. The practice of urban agriculture and fishery enables inhabitants to get rid of transport cost. Scholars claim that Africa should invest in creating job opportunities which focuses on urban water management and effective utilization of water bodies.
Lamin Manah Director at UNDPs Regional Service Center for Africa said that though Africa has untouched natural resource and huge number of man power, it has not registered the desired economic development and created sufficient job opportunities for the youth. Apart from creating work opportunities for the youth, an integrated urban water based development has paramount importance to increase tourist inflows and create pollution free environment.
The experiences of China, America, Japan and other countries show that their success is emanated from effective utilization of their water bodies for agriculture, fishery, tourism and manufacturing sector. Fumio Shimizu, Japans Ambassador to the African Union has also suggested that Africans have to alleviate unemployment and limitation of innovation through highly investing in human resource development.
Paying due attention for water based development will have countless advantages to resist natural disaster and build sustainable blue economy. Statesmen across the continent should equip the youth section of the society with adequate knowledge, skill and ethics to exploit abundant water resources. Thus, Africans are urged to highly invest in human resource development. He further exemplified that the fundamental cause of Japans humiliation after the end of world war second was the more advanced technology and man power its opponents possessed.
Eventually, the Japans realized the importance of skilled human power and began to highly invest in the sector. As a result, they have traveled 70 years of successful journey being one of the forefront economies and part and parcel of invention in the world. Besides, the mystery that enable Japan to withstand earthquake and flooding, natural disasters frequently threatening the country, is the emphasis given to human resource development.
Doctor Shumet Gizaw, Former State Minister of Technology and Innovation on his part said that Ethiopia is aspiring to develop its urban waters and create a huge job opportunity for rapidly growing youth population through equipping them with the prerequisite skill, knowledge and technological capabilities. Investing in urban water bodies also has paramount importance to ensure food security, eradicate poverty and develop tourism.
The Ethiopian Herald, May 23/2019
BY LAKACHEW ATINAFU
