via Africa Liberty:
Africa’s unemployment rate is on the rise. Most employees, both in the public and private sectors, are not satisfied with what their jobs are paying them. As a result, protests and strikes are becoming the norm of the day.
The unemployed are protesting against governments for not creating jobs. As the employed are striking, demanding salary increments from their respective employers so as to meet the high costs of living and sustain their families.
Although this is the situation on the ground, universities are producing thousands of graduates every year. Mostly, these graduates are either adding to the number of the unemployed, or to the group of unsatisfied employees. Politicians, on the other hand, are taking advantage of the situation by coming up with promises to curb this problem, only to change the tune after getting voted into power. This has left the African continent to continue sailing in abject poverty. Despite receiving massive amounts of aid for decades, Africa’s economic status is worsening.
As much as we may need our poverty situation to transform, we cannot expect our governments to bring the change. And it is obvious that most of the aid money does not benefit the poor, making aid not to be the solution either. Therefore, since our governments are disappointing us, the employers are struggling to raise salaries, and foreign aid is hurting us, what can be the way out of poverty?
It is unmistakably clear that the hope for Africa’s economy lies in entrepreneurship. Venturing into entrepreneurship has proved to be the most powerful tool to poverty alleviation so far. Some may argue that not all of us can be entrepreneurs; people still have to work for others. While this is very true, it is also evident that even when you are employed, you feel some sense of being economically independent when you at least run some small scale businesses that add to your income.
Read the full article HERE.