Cooperation with China offers chances for young people to secure capital to engage in fields that are crucial to Africa’s development
Young people are the core of any given society. They make up what some call the active population. And all countries with aging populations are struggling to revive their active population. This is the very reason that China dropped its one-child policy and adopted the second-child policy at the beginning of 2016.
China realized the threats of an overwhelming increase of an aging population and introduced the policy to maintain a balance between the aging population and the active, or youth, population.
Africa is not only blessed with abundant resources but is endowed with sought-after cheap labor, which is mainly drawn from the young. To enhance Sino-African social and economic development, the young should actively participate in three key areas of development: policymaking, production and trade.
Since young people are the future of Africa, they must be the key stakeholders in Sino-African relations. While they rarely participate in signing various mega deals between China and Africa, it is important to note that many of the deals between China and Africa stretch beyond the present. Africa’s young people are thus the key beneficiaries or victims of the current Sino-African engagement. They therefore should play an important role in decision-making and crafting key policies.
They should participate more in the production of goods and services, for instance. The current status on the African continent calls for a radical change in terms of what young people pursue in life. Instead of working for someone else, there is need for Africa’s young men and women to start exploring possibilities of producing something themselves.
Graduates from African universities spend much of their time thinking of finding employment instead of investing in areas that will create employment for others. To make matters worse, most of them prefer working outside their own countries.
The working syndrome is a major challenge that must be abandoned in favor of an investment syndrome. Africa is in an economic crisis mainly because it is exporting raw materials that are supposed to be the base for the continent’s manufacturing industry. It is therefore the role of the young to take up this imperative radical change. In line with fostering participation in production, it is also imperative to instill the spirit of hard work among Africa’s young people to change the continent’s fortunes.
For the Sino-African synergy to bring positive results, it is crucial for African youth to adopt the Chinese culture of hard work, which is mainly motivated by the spirit of nationalism and patriotism.
Based on my experience as a student in both China and Zimbabwe, I feel that young people in my own country somehow expected easy money, or just working for money, rather than working to develop their own country.
For young people to be able to participate effectively in development issues, governments should create platforms for them to exhibit their skills.
Governments need to create favorable business environments. Most government policies either attract investors or, in other cases, chase away investors.
Instead of monopolizing developmental projects, African governments should be ready to accept, support and motivate innovative and ambitious young people who are willing to invest in meaningful and productive economic activities. The funds currently being secured from China are supposed to be used to invest in such projects.
A third role that Africa’s young people should actively take part in is trade to earn foreign currency. The current trading pattern is discouraging in that many Africans buy Chinese products for resale in their home countries. For young Africans to bring positive development to the continent, the trend should be the other way around.
In summary, the role of Africa’s young people in enhancing Sino-African social and economic development includes participating in decision-making or policymaking, as well as boosting production to ensure that enough is produced for both local and international markets.
The opportunity for cooperation between China and Africa should therefore be explored as an opportunity for the young to secure the much-needed capital to engage in fields that are crucial to the development of African nations. At the same time, governments are the drivers of development. They are in charge of key areas of development, so they should provide the required support, such as securing funding, crafting favorable investment policies and promoting trade between Africa and China.
The author is a senior lecturer and the director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Zimbabwe. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
(China Daily European Weekly 11/23/2018 page9)