By Crispina Cummings
A senior official of the United Nations Development Programme says Sierra Leone has the worst youth unemployment in Africa - at 60%.
Presenting his organisation's youth development strategy to the parliamentary oversight committee for youth affairs, the UNDP Youth Affairs Project Manager, Molla Allemu said more than "80% of the country’s youth population lives below the poverty line of US $2 per day, and Sierra Leone has the worst youth unemployment rate in Africa which is about 60%".
He said it was against this background that the UNDP in
Sierra Leone was "reinforcing and strategically reviewing our approach hence the formulation of the youth Employment and Empowerment Programme which is being implemented nationwide".
Allemu said the youth employment and empowerment programme initiated in 2011 was "designed to strengthen national policy, strategy and coordination for youth employment and it seeks to provide basic support services for youth across the country, including business development, career advice and placement services and the strengthening of youth governance structures".
Allemu said Sierra Leone had the potential to take the top position in terms of development because it was blessed with huge natural resources. He said as part of the UNDP’s support "we have employed international and national consultants to formulate a 5 year youth development strategy which is mainly aimed at creating employment opportunities for young Sierra Leoneans" .
UNDP Project consultant, Dr. Dennis Sandy described the document as a "draft" and promised that the final one would be sent to the committee for further study noting that the goal of the 5-year strategy was to get one million new jobs for the youth.
Augustine Torto MP of the ruling APC observed that if youth were not able "to read and write then the country is in problems".
Other committee members said the youth should also be ready to be educated and that the strategy should include the mines and works ministries as they employ a huge percentage of young people in the country.
(C) Politico 25/03/14
