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Time to tame surging levels of unemployment and poverty
2006-01-13 08:01:40
By Editor
Record high levels of unemployment and spiralling poverty are principle among a myriad of problems bedevilling almost all corners of the African continent.
According to a United Nations report - Meeting the Challenges of Unemployment and Poverty in Africa – the spillover effect of last year’s remarkable economic growth on the continent has not trickled down to the general populace who bare the brunt of mass unemployment and higher rates of poverty.
Here at home, despite the economy registering a sterling 6 percent growth last year, a lot needs to be undertaken considering that with a population growth rate of 2.8 percent, many Tanzanians may still be unable to lead a fairly modest life.
Despite relative success in the political and social spheres a majority of our people still live a life best described as abject poverty.
Indeed, absolute poverty is a reality we have to contend with more than half of the populace living on less than a dollar a day.
It is no doubt there is a direct correlation between the surging levels of crime in our urban centres.
The general decay of our social fabric mainly manifesting in unprecedented wave of crime is a precursor of the social disorder that will always mirror our society as poverty continues unabated to entrench itself in our midst.
But worrying more is the reality of our poverty and unemployment gradually manifesting. Every year, less than half the Standard Seven candidates secure places to proceed with secondary school education or placement in vocational training institutions.
For the rest, their fate is apparent. They are absorbed into the so-called informal sector or are condemned to peasantry livelihood, which at the moment offers no hope of economic deliverance.
This only perpetrates a vicious circle of poverty.
In the just concluded general elections, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) claimed victory under the banner of job creation and assurance that every Tanzanian would lead a decent life.
The slogan maisha bora kwa kila Mtanzania (decent life for every Tanzanian) impressed and provided hope for many citizens.
It is only prudent that the new government embarks on the rather challenging task of actualising this dream for the many poor Tanzanians.
And indeed, this should be expedited to boost the morale of wananchi, who are now grappling with prolonged drought.
Though a natural phenomenon, the raging drought has complicated the already pathetic situation for many citizens. Thousands are facing the grim reality of hunger among other maladies that accompany such disaster.
With the electioneering period now over, time for political rhetoric is goner. It is now time to deliver on the pre-election pledges. Tackling unemployment and lowering the rising levels of poverty should be high on the agenda.
To lower poverty levels, we need to treble the economic growth, an endeavour that should be the biggest task of the new government. Its work has been cut out with credible vehicles to faster economic growth put in place by the last government.
We have ’Mkukuta,’ Small and Medium Enterprises loan guarantee scheme and above all Vision 2025, which can place our country on the map of developed nations or make it equivalent to the Asian Tigers.
No one in the new government mentions yet the Vision 2025, which, most academicians agree, could lead this country to greater economic freedom, if fully embraced and implemented.
We think the Ministry of Planning must come out in the open and make a follow-up of such documents like the Vision 2025, which enjoy government’s support and have the potential of lifting the country to greater economic heights.
In any case, planning doesn’t mean coming up with grand timetables and work plans that are never implemented.
We believe that if the blueprints were actualised, no Tanzanian would ever go hungry or fail to go to school at least up to secondary level.
The ball is in the court of the new government, to create an environment that will steer the country to more economic freedom and less poverty for the masses.
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