Students from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology after an Entrepreneurship competition.

While critics doubt whether the just concluded US-Africa summit outcomes will bring any meaningful change to Africa any time soon, some commentators view the summit as an opportunity for Africa to step further onto the global stage.

The low participation rate of youth in the labour market in Africa is a worrying trend. According to the 2014 African Economic Outlook report on youth unemployment, the incidence of unemployment in this demographic group is 20 per cent in sub-Sahara Africa. An estimated 133 million young people (more than 50% of the youth population) in Africa are illiterate. While there is no simple solution to address the high youth unemployment, many agree that the large skills gap that exists in many countries has exacerbated the problem.

The educational systems that currently exist across the continent are no longer fit for the 21st century particularly at a time when foreign investors continue to show huge interest in investing in sectors that require technical skills. Mckinsey Global Institute in a report titled “Africa at work: Job creation and Inclusive Growth” recently pointed out the lack of “work readiness” amongst a significant number of young graduates. Statistics released by The Economist in 2012, show that as countries grow wealthier, there tends to be a greater mismatch between the skills that young people have and what the education system offers. The mismatch of skills is an indication of the poor quality of education and “the absence of linkages between education systems and employers.”

In light of all this, governments cannot ignore the barriers that are limiting the growth of stable employment in many sectors. The Mckinsey report on “Job creation and inclusive growth” also mentions the low levels of vocational training in Sub-Sahara Africa which happens to be the second lowest in the world with only 16% of those enrolled in upper secondary education receiving technical and vocational training, compared with 26% in North America and Western Europe and 38% in East Asia.

Despite countries such as Ghana and Zambia recording consistent growth averaging at about 5 per cent over the past five years, it is becoming evident that very little has been done in utilising the boom years to invest in a way that would ensure good returns during that period and in the subsequent years. The two countries benefited from the campaign initiated by the Jubilee 2000 debt relief program over a decade ago which led to Ghana and Zambia being cleared of debt worth $14 billion. The objective was to clear the debt overhang and allow the countries to borrow responsibly in the future. This unfortunately has not been the case.

Ghana and Zambia are now reportedly struggling to finance their debts and are under pressure to seek emergency loans from the International Monetary Fund according to a recent report by Bloomberg. Ghana is reported to have missed targets on the budget deficit and reserves and delayed meeting goals on auditing the payroll and integrating tax offices according to the IMF. Furthermore the IMF has gone on to mention that it appears that government spending in both Ghana and Zambia has been growing at unsustainable levels.

A close look at the current leadership shows that not much has changed. Those entrusted with the management of public funds in many African countries amass wealth through awarding their cronies and themselves government contracts. Tales of mismanagement of public funds abound.

Questions are now being asked as to what efforts leaders are making to invest in capital intensive projects. More attention appears to be given to projects that offer great photo opportunities with very little being done to invest in projects that are of intrinsic economic worth. According to research carried out by a Non-governmental organisation based in the United Kingdom, Health Poverty Action, the amount of money that Africa loses every year due to illicit financial flows, profits taken out of the continent by multinational companies, debt repayments, brain drain of skilled workers and costs incurred as a result of climate change is a staggering $192 billion.

Political and corporate corruption continue to have a strangle hold on Africa. According to a report by Tax Justice Network Africa released in February 2014, many resource rich countries collect very low levels of revenue. Zambia for instance, one of the leading producers of copper in the world, stipulated in the country’s 1995 Mining Act a royalty of 2% which is extremely low. It was further revealed that agreements with companies had actually set the rate at 0.6%. Proceeds from the mineral wealth in resource rich countries have not been directed towards developing a knowledge based economy that will allow African countries to compete and assert itself as an emerging continent on the global stage.

Many civil society organisations are now demanding transparency from governments that have for a long time, not opened up certain sectors such as the mining and oil industry to public scrutiny. Drastic action needs to be taken to address inefficiency and corruption which contribute towards holding back many young Africans who have talent ambition and ingenuity.

Many economic obstacles young people face, stem from the way political power is exercised and monopolised by the elite. African leaders have had numerous summits over the years and it always seems to be all smoke and mirrors. The time for action is now. Investing in the future is the way forward. Unless drastic measures are taken to address this, the future for the next generation remains bleak.

By Kabukabu Ikwueme

The author is a freelance writer and Law graduate. She has written for various publications and some of her work has been used in journals on law and economics.