Growth eludes Malawi, others
Malawi and other African countries including Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone have struggled to transform and generate growth that is inclusive for all their citizens despite having great economic potential, a research by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change has said.
This comes as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said job creation for the youth in most African counties like Malawi remains an uphill task.
The report adds that African countries are likely to face a shortfall of 50 million jobs by 2040 with “catastrophic” consequences for the global economy.
The analysis—which is based on World Bank data— shows that the labour force in sub-Saharan Africa will be 823 million by 2040, up from 395 million in 2015.
However, according to the report, the total number of jobs is only expected to hit 773 million, it said, leaving 50 million people in Africa unemployed.
“Unemployment crisis will ravage the continent if it doesn’t opt for market-based development,” the report said.
The report has since predicted a shortfall of 50 million jobs, which should serve as a “wake-up call” for governments across much of the continent as well as international donors and agencies.
The Guardian of the UK has also reported that international donors pursuing “piecemeal, u n c o o r d i n a t e d interventions” are aggravating matters.
The institute is backing calls for African governments and their international development partners to develop a strategy for inclusive economic growth to create jobs.
The report suggests that governments, supported by their development partners, should focus on developing sectors that have strong economic potential for competitiveness and create jobs.
This approach, the report said, had much in common with the successful growth strategies employed by many East Asian countries as well as Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius and, currently, Ethiopia.
The report highlighted the progress of Botswana, Ethiopia and Mauritius, which it said had made significant progress in recent decades, due to political leaders working alongside stakeholders and development partners.
