A recent report by Transparency Rwanda cites several cases of corruption related to employment.

Men are expected to pay bribes to secure jobs, and women are expected to consent to the sexual demands of their employers.

Despite laws and regulations in place, both men and women are more or less tolerant of such treatment no matter how degrading, because the distress of finding themselves without employment prevails over the intensity of those unlawful practices.

The above clearly expresses the high toll that the phenomenon of unemployment exerts on the wellbeing of the unemployed. The phenomenon of unemployment has joined the devastating evils plaguing the world such as wars, famines and epidemics; and affects even the strongest economies.

A case in point is France, where in 2010, the combined direct and indirect costs thereof accounted for 9 per cent of GDP, equivalent to 64.3 per cent of the state budget.

Some studies postulate that if the unemployment rate reached 10 per cent , the indirect cost varies between 5 per cent and 12 per cent of GDP.

Unemployment does not only have economic and social consequences. Politics and security issues are implicated as well.

We should quote the recent immigration of young and brilliant people from their towns and villages in Africa, and the perilous undertakings in order to find better living conditions in Europe or America, where social services are in place to address the issue of unemployment, unlike their country where poverty and unemployment are two elements of a vicious cycle in which they are locked.

Lives are lost (for instance the recent Lampedusa tragedy) in a bid to flee unemployment. And more lives, more brilliant minds will be lost if nothing is done now.

Different studies

Another case, is the first Arab Spring, which was a revolution with grievances directly related to youth unemployment. It is worth recalling that it was the young educated, but unemployed who were at the heart of the revolution in Tunisia in 2011.

The worst thing is that this problem of unemployment is not getting any better. As highlighted by 2012 Global Employment Outlook report, it is projected at 10.9 per cent in North Africa and 7.8 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa in 2013.

In 2012, an accumulated 197 million people were without jobs worldwide (World of Work 2012), and that number is projected to rise by 5.1 million in 2013, to more than 202 million in 2013, and by another 3 million in 2014. (Global Employment Trends).

Despite the steady economic growth currently observed in African countries, growth has not been observed in addressing the issue of unemployment, mainly due to three factors: The lack of policies and sufficiently proactive national plans to tackle this problem at the root; the lack of a systematic approach to collect and analyse information on the current situation of the labour market; and the inadequacy of available skills for the needs of the labour market.

Like all evils, unemployment can be vanquished because an evil recognised as such is half healed.

All it requires is the determined willingness of both policy makers and victims to look into new ventures and exploit new routes. China, for instance, exports a massive workforce, which has a direct impact on the Chinese government’s revenues.

One of the solutions to this problem is to reform the education system and reorient educational programmes to prepare the younger generation to become job creators and not job seekers.

It will take some time, perhaps a whole generation, and in the meantime, direct government assistance should be provided to the African youth to enable them to be self-reliant and live decently.

African policymakers therefore have a great responsibility to address the unemployment issue, especially youth unemployment.

Young African graduates have high expectations when they leave schools and universities. They are trained, have acquired skills that they want to put to the service of their country.

Beyond the huge cost to the national community of financing the training of young people, which may result in net loss if they are unemployed, we should know that the youth in question can easily become time bombs, when denied the opportunity to exercise their skills. As the old saying goes, idleness is the mother of all vices.

Indeed, if one agrees that education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world, we must remember that it is a double edged sword as well!

Denyse Akayezu is an economic analyst at the Rwanda Development Board while J-Baptiste MubumbyiDunia is a lecturer of development projects at ESCD 3A, Lyon, France.