Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06FREETOWN840
2006-10-12 18:00:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Freetown
Cable title:
SIERRA LEONE LAUNCHES YOUTH EMPLOYMENT SCHEME
how-toVZCZCXRO7564 PP RUEHPA DE RUEHFN #0840 2851800 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 121800Z OCT 06 FM AMEMBASSY FREETOWN TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0389 INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0212 RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L FREETOWN 000840
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/12/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL EFIN ECON SL
SUBJECT: SIERRA LEONE LAUNCHES YOUTH EMPLOYMENT SCHEME
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Elizabeth Pratt
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L FREETOWN 000840
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/12/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL EFIN ECON SL
SUBJECT: SIERRA LEONE LAUNCHES YOUTH EMPLOYMENT SCHEME
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Elizabeth Pratt
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (U) On October 9, Charge and PolOff attended the
launching of the GoSL's Youth Employment Scheme (YES). Vice
President Solomon Berewa gave the keynote address. Many
ministers and a few donor agencies' representatives attended
the event. Berewa announce that the government had earmarked
1 billion Leones (USD 334,000) to create immediate employment
opportunities for young people between the ages of 15-35
years, who constitute an estimated 33.3 percent of the total
population. Berewa said that YES would generate 135,000 jobs
over the next 12 months, and that the government would
closely monitor job growth and produce quarterly reports on
the number of jobs generated.
2. (U) In his speech Berewa warned that high levels of
youth unemployment were cause for alarm, and that the
government had prioritized youth unemployment in its Poverty
Reduction Strategy. Following the launching, Berewa led a
delegation to New York to meet with the UN Peacebuilding
Commission to discuss strategies to address the challenges of
rebuilding the country and consolidating peace. Comment: The
event likely was timed to give the government a deliverable
for its meeting with the Commission. End Comment.
3. (C) COMMENT: The launch was well-timed to show program
initiative to confront one of Sierra Leone's pressing needs.
This initiative is very ambitious and, according to the
government, seeks to remedy past programs that did not
successfully address unemployment problems. It remains to be
seen if the government's program is a sincere attempt to
generate employment or just another vote-buying exercise by
the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) to court the
large voting bloc represented by undereducated, disgruntled,
and unemployed youth who are both a threat to the country's
ongoing development and its continued security. END COMMENT.
PRATT
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/12/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL EFIN ECON SL
SUBJECT: SIERRA LEONE LAUNCHES YOUTH EMPLOYMENT SCHEME
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Elizabeth Pratt
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (U) On October 9, Charge and PolOff attended the
launching of the GoSL's Youth Employment Scheme (YES). Vice
President Solomon Berewa gave the keynote address. Many
ministers and a few donor agencies' representatives attended
the event. Berewa announce that the government had earmarked
1 billion Leones (USD 334,000) to create immediate employment
opportunities for young people between the ages of 15-35
years, who constitute an estimated 33.3 percent of the total
population. Berewa said that YES would generate 135,000 jobs
over the next 12 months, and that the government would
closely monitor job growth and produce quarterly reports on
the number of jobs generated.
2. (U) In his speech Berewa warned that high levels of
youth unemployment were cause for alarm, and that the
government had prioritized youth unemployment in its Poverty
Reduction Strategy. Following the launching, Berewa led a
delegation to New York to meet with the UN Peacebuilding
Commission to discuss strategies to address the challenges of
rebuilding the country and consolidating peace. Comment: The
event likely was timed to give the government a deliverable
for its meeting with the Commission. End Comment.
3. (C) COMMENT: The launch was well-timed to show program
initiative to confront one of Sierra Leone's pressing needs.
This initiative is very ambitious and, according to the
government, seeks to remedy past programs that did not
successfully address unemployment problems. It remains to be
seen if the government's program is a sincere attempt to
generate employment or just another vote-buying exercise by
the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) to court the
large voting bloc represented by undereducated, disgruntled,
and unemployed youth who are both a threat to the country's
ongoing development and its continued security. END COMMENT.
PRATT