Ottoabasi Abasiekong: Government And Job Creation (1)

Is it the role of Government to create Jobs? This is one question which has played over the decades in the political economic framework of Nations, Politicians trying to play ‘Superman’ make promises while campaigning that when they get into office they will create thousands or millions of jobs, but fail to fulfil their promise causing protests and strikes from the citizens.
Whether Democratic or Socialist, Governments have tried o play the big brother role of creating jobs for the citizens, a task that has been very enormous to sustain considering the other responsibilities of providing infrastructure, ensuring that there is stability, sustainable development, and peace in the Nation.

The very contentious issue of Government and Job creation comes at a time in the 21st Century when massive unemployment is adversely affecting the Generation Nexters (Babies born from the Late 1978),which is one of major reasons for the occupy movement which started from the United States and spread to over 50 countries, revealing the discontent and dissatisfaction of a generation in the political economic system of their Nation .

In the United States of America after the devastating 2008 recession, the Obama Government has been focused on restoring the economy back to the mainstream of Global competitive relevance by tackling the unemployment rate which reduced to about 7.8 percent for the first time since 2009, meaning about 114,000 jobs were added in September by the U.S. Jobs statistics.
For those that can remember President Obama lost the mid—term elections because the Americans felt that he was too slow in tackling the unemployment challenges in the country, Former French President Nicholas Sarkozy lost the 2012 elections because the French citizens felt he was not doing enough to tackle unemployment.

Real-time Political and Economic analysts know that Government do not create jobs but rather strategize and implement policy framework that can empower and also tackle the challenges of unemployment across the nations, and this is what Leaders and Politicians should bring to the table.

United Kingdom under the Leadership of Prime Minister Mr David Cameron has experienced series of turbulence and crisis, partly because the young Tory Leader has resolved to bring reforms to the British that lead it away from insolvency.

Presently the Growth forecast of the economy is poor, Inflation rate is high creating concern for Bank Governor Sir Mervyn King, and the unemployment rate is not encouraging at the moment, meaning the Cameron Government has to do a lot in charting a path that creates a roadmap for guaranteeing the entrepreneurship and innovative spirit of the young people.
Spain at the moment is reeling from the fact that its unemployment rate is pegged at 25% with 53% under 25 affected, this had led to the migration of young Spaniards to countries like UAE, Brazil, India, and Saudi Arabia in search of jobs.

Greece also apart from its debt crisis quagmire has an unemployment rate pegged at 25% too, with 55% under 25 affected, which has fuelled the recurrent protests, strikes, and rage of the populace whenever the government reveals its intention of implementing additional austerity measures.

Africa’s Giant Nigeria is one Nation with great potentials that has come to a point where it has to unleash its greatness, one threat to its emergence is the issue of unemployment . The National Bureau of Statistics pegged unemployment rate at 40% with over 60% under 35 affected one of the factors causing increased crime rate in the country.

International Labour Organization Director Mr Guy Ryder in an Interview with the Euronews in September , stressed that the unemployment rate and non-engagement of the youth globally is alarming and worrisome. He proposed a Global Youth Guarantee Scheme which should help fund development programs that can empower the youth to be skillful and employable.

It is also important to note some laudable strategies and initiatives of Government which can only create the platform and environment for jobs. First the Obama administration’s ‘US Jobs Act’ is a strategic public-private sector partnership to train, equip, empower and impart the youth with requisite skills that will make them employable, this is aside from the Jeffrey Immelt Committee on Jobs and Competitiveness that have been assigned with the task of designing a roadmap for reinventing ‘America’.

Governments do not have the mastery to create jobs, the market does and it is important for politicians to shun all the James Bond and Jackie Chan stunts that they can create Jobs, and begin to develop strategic policy frameworks that can hasten the processes for equipping, engaging, training, and empowering the eager youth with skills and incentives that will enhance and maximize potentials.
Talk is cheap, the fact is that Government does not create jobs and this is what citizens must realize this. Rather Government can set the structures and systems set to drive job creation.

Ottoabasi Abasiekong writes from Lagos

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