By Mustapha Sesay
World Bank country manager says their net financial commitment to Sierra Leone totals US$400 million, including support for International Development Association and International Bank for Reconstruction Development, IDA/IBRD.
Arthur Brown was giving a lecture to students of the Mass Communications department at Fourah Bay College on basic economic policies and the Sierra Leone economy generally when he called on future employees to develop ideas and become entrepreneurs to salvage the problems of unemployment.
He said a summary of the country’s portfolio as of January 14, 2014 estimated US$219 million for the IDA/IBRD operations, US$76 million for the regional operations and US$105 million for trust funds, adding that there were about 17 projects currently being funded by the Bank.
He warned, however, that the era when jobs were guaranteed in Africa was over because there was no proper economic structure to support employment on the continent, citing human capital as one of the fundamental challenges to economic development in Africa.
“There is a mismatch between what African students are learning at the University and the skills employers are actually looking for”, he noted, adding that Sierra Leone had moved to the “bottom ten” in terms of economic development and therefore needed to improve on its human capital to cope with the changing trend.
He stated that electricity was also key more so when the country largely depended on the mining sector for its development.
He said the country’s education system was weak, pointing to the two-shift school system as not being enough for the required education.
(C) Politico 08/05/14
