ILO calls for integrated macroeconomic policies for sustainable development in Zambia

LUSAKA (ILO News) – With youth unemployment on the rise and an economic growth that has failed to translate into broad-based and job-rich outcomes, Zambia needs to urgently identify areas of immediate and accelerated policy intervention, stated Aeneas Chapinga Chuma, Regional Director of the International Labour Office (ILO) in Africa.

Zambia has a population of 14.5 million people, which is overwhelmingly young with almost half of the population below 15 years of age.

“I believe the extractive industries in Zambia cannot catalyse the creation of more jobs across the sectors of the economy and engender inclusive and broad-based economic growth unless integrated macroeconomic policies are put in place to support such a strategy”, Chuma told participants of the High Level Stakeholder Dialogue Conference in Lusaka labelled “Zambia’s Way Forward: Job Creation to Promote Inclusive Growth”.

The Zambian economy has shown remarkable growth (7%) with large investments used to strengthen the capital intensive mining sector. However, the demographic situation is changing with a growing youth population needing decent jobs.

Young men and women become disconnected from the job market and the transition from school to work is prolonged, underscored Mr Chuma highlighting the situation of Zambians who continued to experience long-term unemployment, involuntary part-time and temporary employment, and job insecurity.

No time to lose

“The overall challenge for Zambia is to seize the opportunity provided by the wealth from the extractive industry, particularly copper and mineral resources, to increase the growth of non-mining sectors substantially to create more and better jobs and achieve a durable reduction in poverty”, underlined the ILO Senior Executive adding that “we have no time to lose”.

Mr Chuma emphasised that while there is no blueprint for creating broad-based, poverty-reducing and labour intensive economic growth, there are underpinning principles to operate on. These include; Pro-employment macroeconomic policies, increase in human capital investment and social protection, increase in human capital investment and social protection as well as ensuring structural changes to promote equity, such as the empowerment of women.

The Lusaka conference (24-25 November 2014) examined different policy proposals with the participation of international and Zambian speakers, including ministers and government officials, academics and researchers, cooperating partners, civil society, and business men and women from the private sector.

“Enhancing rural development, improving agricultural productivity, creating an enabling environment for sustainable small and medium enterprises, improving educational systems and promoting innovation in vocational training” are also major policy interventions recommended for a job-led transformative agenda for Zambia, stressed Aeneas Chuma.

Tackling inequality

“Economic growth on its own, if concentrated in the hands of a few, or in an enclave economy, can be detrimental to a nation as it reinforces inequality and vulnerability’ warned the ILO Regional Director for Africa. Growth with good quality jobs is the priority of individuals, families, communities and countries but inequality has increased almost everywhere, leading to indecent levels of income and wealth concentration.

“Just one figure: 3.5 billion people together have the same income as the 61 million richest individuals in the world. These levels of inequality are no longer politically sustainable or ethically defensible”, Chuma explained by concluding that “no Post-2015 Development Agenda will be seen as credible if it does not fully addresses the jobs challenge”.

The National Conference and the adopted recommendations will chart a set of concrete actions intended to create more inclusive jobs in Zambia.

For more information or to request interviews, please contact the ILO Communication officer in Lusaka: Mr Benjamin Mwape, [email protected]: +260 211 252737, Cell: +260 977 309 536