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AfDB loan to create 17 000 jobs

Government and the African Development Bank (AfDB) yesterday signed two loan agreements that will help Malawi create jobs for the youth aged between 18 and 35.

The agreements, which were signed in Lilongwe, will see Malawi getting a loan worth $10.5 million (about K7.5 billion) and a grant amounting to $1.68 million (approximately K1.2 billion) for the Jobs for Youth Project.

Flashback: Job seekers queu to submit CVs at Golden Peacock Hotel

The project, designed to create 17 000 jobs for the youth by 2020, was identified through a joint AfDB/International Labour Organisation (ILO) scoping mission in Malawi conducted in May 2016 and was  approved on December 7 2016..

Speaking in an interview after signing the agreements, AfDB resident representative Andrew Mwaba said the jobs for youth project are part of the response by the AfDB group to support government’s efforts to address the challenges faced by the youth in the job market.

He said: “The project seeks to economically empower young men and women for improved employability in decent work and sustainable entrepreneurship in the country. It will work to implement strategies that improve sustainable employment of the youth and their capacity to engage in entrepreneurial activities. In turn the project is expected to create an estimated 17 000 jobs for youth in Malawi.”

In his remarks, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe said the resources will strengthen both the demand and supply labour market systems through strategies that will improve sustainable employability of young people and their capacity to engage in entrepreneurial activities.

The 2008 Population and Housing Census estimated that 52 percent of the population was below 18 years old with only 9 percent having attained secondary and tertiary education.

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