Government under pressure from unemployment in Mozambique – O País

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Government under pressure from unemployment in Mozambique – O País

12:08 CAT | 03 May 2021

Photo: O País

Mozambique’s employment situation has worsened as a consequence of terrorism in Cabo Delgado and natural disasters, Minister of Labour and Social Security Margarida Talapa acknowledged on Friday at a meeting of SADC employment and labour ministers.

Three million new jobs are needed to reduce the number of unemployed young people in the country, and the situation is already affecting the government, Minister Talapa said.

“Youth unemployment in the world, and in our region in particular, puts our governments under strong pressure. The forecast of growth in the segment of the economically active population, comprising young people, in the coming decades, may represent a delayed time bomb, if it is not possible to promote increasingly inclusive economic growth,” she reflected.

Talapa also addressed the issue of the government’s duties and commitments to youth, citing the government’s Five Year Program, which “includes the creation of about three million jobs as one of its objectives, and the creation of the Youth and Employment Secretariat, a body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of employment”.

Speaking at the virtual meeting of SADC employment and labour ministers, Margarida Talapa cited terrorism in Cabo Delgado and natural calamities as the main obstacles to the government’s efforts to find more employment for young people.

“The results of the government’s initiatives may be conditioned by the triple crisis that we face. Terrorism in Cabo Delgado, natural disasters and the Covid-19 pandemic constitute a threat to our collective effort and the socio-economic development of the country,” she indicated.

According to Minister Talapa, new measures and work policies to deal with youth unemployment will be furthered at SADC level, promising that “we have scheduled an assessment of the framework for employment and work policy at the SADC, aiming at the implementation, not only of the obligations resulting from of the plan referred to, but also to the 2015 industrialisation strategy and roadmap”.

According to World Bank figures, youth unemployment in Mozambique stood at 7.18% in 2019.

By Isaura Manjate

Source: O País