Africa must become inclusive to progress

The 2014 International Monetary Fund world economic outlook report shows a continent that, though recording impressive growth, needs several things fixed to improve the livelihood of its population.

According to the report, six out of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world are from Africa.

The recent discovery of natural resources in a number of Africa countries has led to increased flows of foreign direct investment.

However, despite this tremendous growth story, poverty levels still remain high and affect about 45 per cent of the region’s households.

Inequality in access to education, health services, and jobs has remained a nightmare to the continent, most of whose countries have an average economic growth rate of five per cent.

Although the continent has, in recent years successfully sought integration on a number of issues, with infrastructure leading the pack, very little has been achieved in improving the social wellbeing of its population.

Seventy per cent of the continent’s 1.1 billion residents are young people aged less than 25 years. However, seven out of 10 jobless people in the continent fall in this category.

The challenge confronting Africa is inequality and exclusion. The much-touted economic growth that is being witnessed in Africa today is not sustainable unless governments promote inclusiveness in all sectors.

African governments must ensure that the benefits of growth reach more people, especially the poorest, thereby aiding poverty reduction.

It is naïve to ignore mounting evidence that inequality is a threat to economic growth in the continent.

There is a need for a joint strategy and policy changes to target integration of all citizens in the growth of the continent.

YOUTH UNDERUTILISED

It is tragic that the most productive constituent of the continent’s population is underutilised. With many young people unemployed, the threat of disruption to growth has always been real in the continent.

We must not forget that the poor cannot sleep because they are hungry and that the rich cannot sleep because the poor are awake.

Most economies in Africa are based on agriculture. There is a need to invest in agriculture and make it more attractive to the youth. More young people need to be given support through knowledge, skills, capital, and technology to venture into agri-business.

An estimated 60 per cent of the world’s uncultivated arable land is in Africa. The arable land offers an ideal opportunity for the public and the private sector investors to produce and market agricultural products.

Also, Africa is predicted to be the new demographic powerhouse of the world. Half of the world’s future population growth will be driven by Africa.

This creates a rising rapidly potential work force. There were 460 million workers in 2010 and the number is expected to increase to almost 800 million by 2030.

As Africa’s economies move more to service and knowledge-based sectors and with increasing advancements in technology, this trend will influence the sourcing of talent and demand for skills.

Ultimately, Africa must prepare for the development of its work force, focusing on models that aim to integrate the youth and marginalised communities into employment.

Mr Obonyo is the external adviser on the UN Habitat’s Youth Advisory Board. ([email protected])