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The Africa Commission’s – Thematic Conference

The Africa Commission’s – Thematic Conference. Youth & Employment: Preliminary Presentation and Debate, Ibis By Shani Mahama, Cand. Scient. Soc. The Current Dev’t Discourse. Service Delivery: education – mainly primary education, infrastructure Democracy and good governance

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The Africa Commission’s – Thematic Conference

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  1. The Africa Commission’s – Thematic Conference Youth & Employment: Preliminary Presentation and Debate, Ibis By Shani Mahama, Cand. Scient. Soc.

  2. The Current Dev’t Discourse • Service Delivery: education – mainly primary education, infrastructure • Democracy and good governance • Advocacy and capacity building • Gender/WID– micro finance (young girls?) • Small scale business/social enterprising?

  3. Any reason for discursive shift by both major donors, and NGOs? • ABSOLUTELY YES – towards youth and economic empowerment. Ref. Two recently published independent studies in Ghana and Denmark on causality between employment and crime show similar results.

  4. The Rockwool Foundation • The study showed a co-relation between frequency of crime and unemployment.

  5. Professor Kenneth Atafuah,Ghana • “Fighting Armed Robbery in Ghana” - Conclusion similar to Rockwool Foundation’s  Therefore AFC theme on Youth and Employment is timely, to address: • The absolutely less focus by NGOs and Donors on job creation and skill/capability enhancement. • Note the saying that, “the devil resides in an idle mind”

  6. Neglect by NGOs and Donors on Youth Issues • In the few cases of NGO involvement, focus has been on traditional vocational training. • Policies lack new thinking and innovativeness • Excess supply of low quality skill training – NGOs and state institutional TVET schemes all focus on sewing, carpenters, soap making etc. (the question is whether development workers patronize what they train youth to produce?)

  7. Recommendations 1 • It is about time to reduce focus on soft values: democracy, good governance and political empowerment  giving voice! • Move towards economic empowerment through effective job creation • “The egg is older than the chicken”  economic empowerment before democracy, if democracy should sustain.

  8. Recommendation 2 • Democracy must come from within thru building social capital – promoting associational life. NB: Democracy does not alleviate poverty  it is secondary to eco. growth! • Economic empowerment will make people demand voice, political rights etc

  9. Recommendation 3 • Vigorous institutionalization of employment schemes (private & public must remunerate fairly  this might reduce corruption/fraud in the long run) • Invest into social enterprising, occupational inclusion/integration irrespective of educational attainment. • Replace schools with educational institutions (TVET)

  10. Challenges for AFC • Will AFC make any difference or “a 9 days wonder”? the case of Blair’s… • The impact of AFC will greatly depend on CSOs, media and the general public’s ability to constantly press the gov’t to implement recommendations of AFC. • Gov’t ability to make the policy all inclusive and across political lines (as at now, it is a political gimmick) and might be abandoned by a new government in the long-run.

  11. The End Tusind TAK for muligheden!

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