The fund

                                                                                                          Taye Kebede

This year creating job for the youth has gotten special attention. The youth are on the cusp of taking over the leadership of the country. In order to make the young people love their country, be hopeful of their country and capable of leading their country, we should involve them in the country’s economic activity and enable them to benefit from it.

There needs to be also political landscape that will host their outlook and position. And this is the main reason behind making the youth participate economically and politically. Of course such type of work of involving the youth in political and economic is not a new thing. Millions of young people have found a job through the youth development and benefit package that was formulated by the government in 2006 E.C. There are also those young people that started from micro and small work to become investors.

Nevertheless, this package hasn’t been able to benefit the young at the expected level. Regarding this, in his speech when he opened the parliament and house of federation at the beginning of the year, President Dr. Mulatu Tehome has said: “The government has worked in the past years to solve the problems of the youth. Especially as a result to the works that were undertaken by formulating youth development and benefit package after the 3^rd national election, many young people have started to benefit. However, we have come to see that the solution put forward and the works that have been done as a result is not cannot possibly keep up with the demand of the fast growing number of the youth.”

In addition, he has said, “As the youth of our country have their own social, economic, political and administrative demands of their own, answering them appropriately will be given huge priority. Considering that out of their question, ensuring their economical benefit is prioritized since it gives the chance to solve their problem integrative, huge efforts will be exerted on job creation and building upon the existing efforts.”

“In order for this effort to be successful, expanding access to finance, generating new ideas for projects and building inclusive implementation system is a must. As a result, the government will establish a mobile youth fund that has the sole objective of benefiting the youth economically. 10 billion birr is allocated to this end, and it will be used in manner that would make sure that the youth have benefitted from it.”

In recent days, Youth and Sport Minister has announced that it has prepared a Youth development package fund administration. The minister said that the package has the aim of utilizing the 10 billion birr that is allocated for job creation for the youth. The youth development package fund administration is prepared by taking in the experience from successful international and local institutions. The minister stated that it was confirmed through a study that the institutions were the lesson are drawn from have 98% success rate in loan return.

Information from youth and sport ministry show that the young people that will be beneficiary from the fund will only be unemployed young people between the age of 18 and 34. And works are already underway to identify the right people that tick the criteria.

The minster remarked that there are also places where works to identify sustainable works and training in relation to the package and related issues have been started. Ministry of finance and economic cooperation has stated that 5 billion birr of the mobile fund has been poured into bank already. And it was stated that this money will be used by the youth at the end of June after finishing their preparation works.

When the house of peoples representative recently stated that 5 billion birr of the additional 18.26 billion birr budget it passed for the federal government will be used for the youth job creation mobile fund. It can be said that the works that have been done in ensuring the involvement of the youth in the country’s economic growth are hopeful. The remaining work left is to utilize the allocated fund to the objective it was aimed at in a manner that is free from rent-seeking.

As it can be recalled, the youth development and benefit package that was formulated on 2006 has had huge problem in implementation. In his speech to the parliament, President Dr. Mulatu Teshome has said that the development and benefit programs that are formulated for the youth have been hindered by various weaknesses on the part of the government like incompetence and unethical activities.

The President in his speech also said that the finance that was assigned solely for youth job creation was given to people that had no business with the project. People had used the loan that isn’t meant for them and utilized it for other purposes. Manufacturing shade area aimed for youth entrepreneurs were utilized for other unintended purposes while some of them were closed not giving any service for years.

There needs to be a procedural system that would make sure the youth package that is prepared now would not be used in an unethical manner or any rent-seeking will not take place. So far we haven’t heard anything about the installation of such monitoring system.

Of course when the news of the package preparation was announced, the youth and sport ministry has stated that the any young man or women should expose any official or personnel if they face political bias or any other administrative malpractice. But, it should be known that this notification is not enough. Setting up a system where they expose misbehaving official or personnel should be laid.

The other thing that should be considered in relation to job creation for the youth is our work culture, and outlook we have towards work. As it’s known, handicraft work in our country is seen measly work and is associated for long with disfranchised people and people in slavery. People involved in such work were considered as subhuman or slaves. And although there have been some improvements made in regards to amending such backward thinking for the past two or three decades, this thinking is still prevalent within the society.

This problem was displayed on students that have graduated in the past years along with their parents. We have heard parents saying that they sent their children to school so that they can wear formal dress and work in an office and don’t want their children working day job. Opposition political parties have also reflected such thinking as well. They have said things that disheartened the work motivation of the young peoples.

In general, the program prepared by the government to make the youth beneficiary from economic and social development is amazing. And in order for this program to be successful, it should bypass rent-seeking behavior and the backward attitude we have towards work.