Finance Minister, Alexander Chikwanda has called for economic strategies to generate economic growth, create jobs and reduce rural poverty.
Mr Chikwanda says unemployment has remained high despite Zambia registering a high growth rate of six percent per annum.
He says Zambia’s unemployment rate is about 14 percent.
Mr Chikwanda said this in Lusaka on Monday when he officiated at the High level policy Dialogue seminar on Youth employment.
The meeting hosted by the African Development Bank has attracted policy makers, private sector, academics and civil society activists from six Southern African countries.
And Labour Minister, Fackson Shamenda says government is going to develop a data base which will be an inventory of youth skills.
Mr Shamenda says government will be able to develop youth employment strategies that is targeted and tailor made for different youths.
He also noted the need to include entrepreneurship in schools so that youths think about creating jobs rather leave school hoping to get a job.
And African Development Bank chief Economist Mtuli Ncube says governments need to develop policies that will give incentives to firms that employ young people.
And African Development Bank director for research Dr Steven Mugerwa says African youth will be highly sought after in the west where the population are aging faster than in Africa.
ZNBC
The problem with politicians is that they bark like dogs
We ar waiting to see it happening.
14% unemployment rate,how correct is that?I thought it was over 70%.No wonder CNP
Unemployment rate is well over 14 percent,perhaps 50 percent will be a better estimate.
You mean no jobs were not created after 90 days as per promise?
Indeed, the real theme of job creation, can only be reflected in terms of 75% of jobs in Govt and parastatal companies being reserved for the Bemba dynasty. This is the meaning of Chikwanda’s understanding of priotising job creation in the PF Govt.
Clear to me that minister chikwanda has not done his homework on the unemployment rate in Zambia. He is either reading a document given to him by people who are bent on our continued suffering or he has smoked something.
‘Called for economic strategies….’, I thought hez part of the people responsible for making such strategies.
I implore him to advertise his ‘call’ so that ‘thinkers’ can tender in competitive proposals from which he can choose the best 25 strategies and implement them, on ‘consultancy contracts’ basis.
Text book on How to create Jobs. Edited by Michael Chilufya Sata.
With contributions from others.
Chapter 1. M Sata
Replace all staff with new ones so that those who were unemployed now have jobs.
Chapter 2. M Sata
Create new districts
Chapter 3. M Sata
Appoint Commissions of Inquiry
Chapter 4. A B Chikwanda.
Rebase the Kwacha, but don’t do it.
Chapter 5. Miles Sampa
Insult the Tongas
Chapter 6. Prof Nkandu Luo
Re-align street vending.
Chapter 7. Nkandu Luo
Re-paint min buses and taxis.
Chapter 9. M C Sata
Reshuffle ministries and ministers
Chapter 10. Given Lubinda
Appoint PF party card carrying cadres to diplomatic posts – PF does not issue cards to its members.
Chapter 11. M C Sata
Talk about corruption daily.
Appendix:
Rename places.
Hahaha :) spot on!!
Chapter 12 M C Sata
Send fuel to Malabi – give Zambian drivers jobs to import fuel from Malawi
LOL
Make Landless Corner a district and find out where the buildings should be constructed after having meetings with stakeholders
#10 Are you Lenje, Landless Corner is very much in Chisamba? Why not ask for John Chinena as a district?
#11 John Chinena is less than 15km from Chibombo. I would go for Landless corner which is far from Chibombo.
* What is the government doing to diversify the economy, so a fall in copper prices does not mean rising unemployment?
* How about infrastruture projects to provide construction jobs?
* How about building dams and irrigation to prevent the annual flooding and save water for small scale agriculture? Or put drainage into neighborhoods to eliminate malaria?
* Promoting small and medium scale agriculture along the entire prodution process – subsidies, infrastructure, transportation, storage, sales/marketing.
* Protect local manufacturing as much as possible. There are a lot of barriers to entry that can be created that get around the WTO.
* There is enough work, but the trick is to get the money to pay for it – Windfall Taxes on the mines, and even state owned mines.
MrK pf says unemployment MMD left behind is not as big as you or any other PF people presumed.Â
Mr. Chikwanda is a funny character. Even a Grade 7 can’t say the Unemployment rate in Zambia is at 14%. No consultation, no research, no heading.
so what the unemployment rate as at now
It is imortant that Government looks at the welfare of those Zambias already employed before they even thinking of creating employment,.
So if you fail to do anything about your ‘priority’, can you still be called a ‘man of action’?
I think the *****a meant only 14% of the the work force are empleyed NOT the other way round. very thick minister of finance indeed!
#17 hahahahakekekek. i don’t know what to tell u
13.1 Global citizen,
” pf says unemployment MMD left behind is not as big as you or any other PF people presumed. ”
According to the World Bank Zambia’s unemployment rate is 14%. According to the same WB, GDP is $19.2 billion?? (Google: unemployment rate zambia worldbank)
I thought it was $5 billion. If it is really $19.2 billion, the state should be collecting at least $5 billion in taxes per year.
My guess without knowing more, is that the WB data was fed by the former MMD, and may be fraudulent. I would suggest that minister Chikwanda would be careful about building policy on information coming out of the World Bank.
You could ask yourself: does the unemployment rate feel like 14%?
the 14% unemployment rate estiamte was done in 2006?? This is 2012, please Minister of Finance and National Planning, give us real figures. It is a shame that we base our figures on what calculated by those outside the country. My estimates are that 70% of Zambian are not employed in the formal sector. I am sure we do not have statistics for the informal sector. Carry out a survey please.
The next time I read a blog, I hope that it does not disappoint me just as much as this one. After all, I know it was my choice to read through, but I actually believed you would have something interesting to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of crying about something that you could possibly fix if you weren’t too busy searching for attention.