« African Youth: time bomb or under development and investment opportunity? »

"A growth without worrying emplois.Le unemployment rate of African youth is often placed in parallel with the rapid economic growth of the continent. According to the ADB, the unemployment rate in SSA is 6%, while 6 of the 10 economies the fastest growing in the world are located in this region. This rate may not seem very high compared to the world average of around 5%. But in most African countries, youth unemployment "is at least twice that of adults, "says the World Bank BAD.Selon, youth represent 60% of all African unemployed. In North Africa, the youth unemployment rate reached 30%. In Botswana, Republic of Congo, Senegal, South Africa and several other countries the situation is even more préoccupante.Les young women are hardest hit. The ADB found that in most sub-Saharan African countries and all North Africa, it is easier for men than for women to get a job, level of experience and skills equal.Many analysts believe that there is another reason to pay more attention to African youth.With 200 million inhabitants aged 15-24 years, Africa has the youngest population in the world.According to the African Economic Outlook report, established in 2012 in particular by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Organization for Cooperation and economic development of industrialized countries (OECD), this figure is expected to double by 2045. The leaders are aware of the need to create jobs.Main lesson of these pre-election violence: youth unemployment, 15% in Senegal, could stoke political violence and civil unrest.A survey conducted in 2011 by the World Bank showed that about 40% of those who join rebel movements say they are motivated by the lack of jobs.African governments therefore struggle against unemployment at several levels.In Senegal, President Sall launched in February 2013 a program to create 30,000 jobs by the end of the year and possibly 300,000 by 2017.Lors of the presidential election of 2012, the Senegalese opposition cited the high unemployment to mobilize youth against former President Abdoulaye Wade.This is mainly the lack of jobs has prompted many young people to invest the streets and vote for a new government.The protests left at least six dead and Wade was defeated by current President Macky Sall.Hidden reality: Underemployment is not a solution to poverty, recognizes the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which reports that up to 82% of African workers are "working poor.According to the African Economic Outlook Over 70% of young Africans on average live on less than $ 2 a day, poverty line internationally.Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda are self-employed or to participate in family activities.Time Bomb: Unemployment statistics in Africa do not reflect the precarious and under-employment jobs in the informal sector.A report by the Brookings Institution, an independent think-tank based in Washington, Young [African] find work, but not at the correct remuneration and without the opportunity to upgrade their skills or to have some job security .Over 70% of young people of Benjamin Gabriel, unemployed graduate of the University of Lagos (Nigeria) said that we often meet young Nigerian graduates who do odd jobs.They clean the floors in hotels, sell phone recharge cards or even workers in factories.The Brookings Institution considers underemployment as a serious problem, which masks the reality in countries with low unemployment.Mr Chikwanda intends to draw attention to the consequences of youth unemployment rates as important in a continent where each year about 10 to 12 million young people enter the labor market.Ahmad Salkida, Nigerian journalist who was one of the few to have been able to approach the militants of Boko Haram group, said àAfrique."This is an unacceptable reality for a continent with such an impressive pool of young, talented and creative," says Mthuli Ncube, Chief Economist of the AfDB.Alexander Chikwanda, Zambian Minister of Finance, sums up the situation: Youth unemployment is a time bomb, which now seems dangerously close to the explosion. "