Initiative For Poverty Reduction Presentation (following).
 INADEQUATE APPROACH TO ADDRESS THE ACUTE YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS IN AFRICA
Inadequate answers have been given by African countries as well as the international community. Among the shortcomings :
• too much emphasis on employment,
• almost no existing policy for the promotion and support of micro and small-size businesses,
• a questionable methodology.
Too Much Focus On Employment
Employment remains up to now the main solution recommended to put an end to / or reduce unemployment in most international and national circles (5), with, of course, corresponding implications at domestic levels. Self-employment activities are not even mentioned in an environment where it however is recognized that the public sector generates very few jobs since the implementation of structural adjustment programmes, and the number of jobs which may be created by the private sector limited, notably because of the use of rather capital-intensive technologies.
Almost No Existing Policy For The Promotion And Support Of Micro and Small-Size Businesses
In spite of the quite old consensus on the fact that micro and small-size businesses, generally labour-intensive structures, are primary channels for job creation, African countries drag on to recognize the paramount necessity of providing support to these businesses to boost local development and consequently, do not bother arranging a favourable environment for them through genuine policies. The development of micro and small-size businesses is an issue which in fact seems to be more related to political rather than economic equations.
A Questionable Methodology
Assumptions And Dogmas are mixed up . Several programmes are based on assumptions which become dogmas : « growth reduces (i.e. must reduce) unemployment ». But then, reality shows that it is not enough to presume ….
Keeping Traditional Methods and Procedures. In spite of well acknowledged emergency in view of the fast deteriorating situation, traditional methods keep on being used with the corresponding redtape delaying the supply of promised means. Among other shortcomings are included :
• the fact that the financial community does not enough take into account the specificities of entrepreneurship in Africa (6)
• operating expenditures, more particularly the wages of international experts, drastically reduce the benefits of such programmes on the development of small-size businesses. (7).
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(5) Extraordinary Summit of the African Union on Employment and Poverty Alleviation held in Ouagadougou , Burkina Faso , 3/9 September 2004. – 2005 Report of the Economic Commission for Africa of the United Nations entitled « Meeting the Challenges of Unemployment and Poverty in Africa » - ILO 2006 Report “ Global Employment Trends For Youth” .
(6) quoted in "Impact des financements internationaux et création d'entreprise" (“The impact of international financing and business setting-up”, in French) from the shared research network called « Financement de l'entrepreneuriat et mobilisation de l'épargne » (Entrepreneurship financing and Mobilization of Savings) in UREF (Université des Réseaux d'Expression Française).
(7) ibidem : « As rightly emphasized by OECD, expatriate experts are too much used in technical assistance and local experts under-utilized. These costs, in addition to running expenses not taken into account, lead to huge losses in small and medium-size business assistance schemes. It is not uncommon to see that only 5 to 10 % of the beneficiaries reach an operational level and only 5% survive.
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