One of the major characteristics of the unrest in some parts of the country a few months ago was the high involvement of the youth. Bearing the brunt of problems of good governance and rent seeking, the youth have found themselves marginalized from the tremendous economic achievements of the past fifteen years.
Making up over 30% of the country’s population, the youth of Ethiopia are mainly left with one of the three factors of production – labor. Land ownership has generally been unattainable for both the rural and urban youth. Capital has also been a main problem with the youth acutely hit by the problem of unemployment. The combination of limited access to land and capital has left today’s youth searching for menial jobs far away from their localities in the major urban centers across the country. That, in turn, has made things even worse for the urban youth who were having a hard time without even having more competitors joining them in cities.
With long standing employment opportunities like engaging in farming highly reduced due to the lack of access to agricultural land, the Ethiopian youth have been reduced to selling their labor. History shows that it is hard enough to generate capital with labor and land let alone the use of labor on its own.
Parallel to these developments was the rapid economic growth in the country that saw people change their lives for the better. These positive trends provided the youth with more access to higher education. A considerable number of young people also benefited from the schemes of micro and small enterprises.
Despite these positive changes, however, the problems persisted. Access to more education raised the expectations of the youth and the people related to them. For all the success of micro and small enterprises, the number of youth not covered through the scheme was still a lot.
This whole bunch of things left the youth in a dire situation. The youth have generally found it harder to start families. With the negative social implications of that kept aside, it greatly builds their frustration. This state of desperation also leaves them susceptible to criminal, rent seeking and corrupt practices.
Their active participation in the unrest in some parts of the country was a reflection of the frustrations of the youth and the diminishing level of hope associated with the rise in rent seeking and corrupt behavior. As identified by the EPRDF’s tenth annual convention, the two social vices make up the biggest threat to the sustainability of the economic successes of the past fifteen years.
The immediate action taken by the government to understand the situation and avert its recurrence through a wide range of motivational schemes is timely and critical to the sustainability of development. Especially the 10 billion birr revolving fund the government has decided to establish is expected to do wonders to the fate of the youth.
Unlike the micro and small enterprises proclamation that defines young as someone between the ages of 15-29, the youth revolving fund considers those between 18 and 34 as young. Considering the huge amount of money earmarked to take on the problems of the youth though, employed people who are well over the specified age have applied for the program. With the intricate networks of rent seeking and corruption, it is also rational to expect schemes to siphon some of the money to the pockets of officials.
Instead of coming up with sound project proposals that would serve the people well while proving marketable, some people have ventured into designing networks of people to get the funds available through special contacts. The highly experienced chain of rent seekers and corrupt people are as excited about this program as the numerous youth of the country who want to make an honest living out of the opportunity provided to them.
Therefore, the screening of projects eligible for funding should be extremely transparent. There should be clearly stated criteria with identifiable standards to objectively determine those that deserve funding. The process should ensure that the revolving fund achieves its mission through the identification of viable projects devoid of nepotism and corruption.
On the part of the youth, there needs to be a change of attitude to work hard and earn an honest living. The work morale of the youth needs to develop considerably in all walks of life. The times when they felt like some lines of work are beneath them should be over. They should realize that work is a reason to be proud and not ashamed. Regardless of how much the income it generates is, Ethiopian youth should realize that employment is always a cause of pride than unemployment.
The youth should also have the belief and conviction that their lives would change through hard work. They should have the strength in belief that they can work hard and pay back the loans they access through the revolving fund. They should be aware enough to grab the chance when opportunity presents itself. They should also understand that the responsible payment of loans would help yet more young people access the same chance provided to them by the revolving fund.
Therefore, the sense of unity and solidarity among the youth should be at its maximum to ensure that everyone gets a shot at making their lives better. The chance to reclaim the hope of a better life is through cooperation and not greed. Those who get the chance first should work hard and pay back their loans to ensure that others are also provided with such a great opportunity to change their lives.
Starting a family, owning a house and earning an honest living should not be privileges left for a few. They should, on the other hand, be attainable for every member of the youth. The hope of a better life should be a guiding force during the energetic period of youth as it would help propel the country to a much heightened state of prosperity. Therefore, the youth needs to achieve an attitudinal change to work really hard and earn an honest living.