WE WANT ONE MILLION JOBS

On 23 June 2020 people queued to vote for a president in the Fresh Presidential Election. The election took place after the courts annulled
the 2019 elections due to irregularities. Many people who braved the chill weather to go and vote were the youth who constitute a majority of the Malawi population. They overwhelmingly voted the Tonse Alliance government in power. During the campaign the Tonse Alliance dangled appetizing promises on the faces of Malawians. One promise that could have played a trick to the youth was that of creating one million jobs. With the reeling high employment rate in the country, the youth thought with the Tonse government, they would be in Canaan in as far as job opportunities is concerned. But now close to ten months down the line, the philosophy of one million jobs is caught up in a quandary. The Tonse government is blaming their failure to deliver the one million jobs promise to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Even minister of information and government spokesperson Gospel Kazako, pleads with Malawians to be patient as not everything could be done in less than a year. But should Covid-19 be blamed for everything? We don’t think so. Should all priorities be grounded to a halt just because we have the pandemic amidst us? Not at all. The philosophy of one million jobs needs to come into fruition. It is a good initiative that can spur economic growth of the country. Covid-19 is here with us, maybe forever. We should continue to fulfill some promises made, not for the sake of fulfilling them, but because they are key to the development of the country.

Creating one million jobs in a year is a key promise. Creating more and quality jobs requires economic transformation, political will and well-coordinated efforts. The private sector is the main engine of job growth. To create more jobs, we need a lot of investment in the private sector. Many Malawians are already getting frustrated and convinced that the one million jobs was just another campaign gimmick.Create one million jobs now, or else that promise will come to haunt those who made it.