Unemployment in Africa unacceptably high – Pohamba Sustained economic growth in Africa over the past decade has not translated into the desired job creation, Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba said on Friday.He made the observation when he officially addressed the Special Session of the African Union (AU) Labour and Social Affairs Commission currently underway in Windhoek. For the past two days government experts and their social partners have been deliberating on the successes and challenges experienced in implementing the 2004 Ouagadougou Plan of Action as well as measures required to halt the trend of jobless growth in Africa. Pohamba told delegates from 52 AU member states and international agencies that unemployment, particularly among the youth, remained “unacceptably high” in most African countries. “You have come from all corners of our continent to tackle one of Africa’s greatest challenges namely, how to fully utilize the enormous productive potential of our peoples through decent and sustainable employment to develop our countries, to eliminate poverty and to achieve the prosperity to which we all aspire,” he said. He however noted that the problem of unemployment in Africa was and could not “be understood merely through statistics alone.” “Other factors must be taken into consideration. For example, many of the employed people in Africa work in vulnerable employment conditions or are underemployed, particularly in the informal economy in both urban and in the rural areas,” the Namibian president said. APA
Posted on: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 03:54:30 +0000
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