From Africa Renewal, Vol.20 #3 (October 2006), page 6 By Gumisai Mutume The Youth Employment Network, an alliance of countries initiated by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in collaboration with the heads of the ILO and World Bank, recommends that governments diversify their economies and promote sectors that use a lot of workers. Many African economies still rely on the production of one or two primary commodities. They could diversify into processing these commodities or producing light manufactures, as Mauritius has successfully done.
Over two decades, Mauritius has averaged 6 per cent annual economic growth, resulting in a fourfold increase in per capita income and virtually eliminating unemployment. The government attracted investors to the country’s principal exports, sugar and garments. It also furthered diversification by promoting export processing zones (EPZs), which featured incentives for investors but also allowed workers to form and join unions (unlike in the EPZs of some other countries).
Between 1983 and 1986, employment in Mauritius’s EPZs tripled and by 1985 the EPZ sector had overtaken sugar as the prime source of exports, foreign exchange earnings and employment. Today Mauritius is no longer able to compete so effectively with other textile producers, such as China. So it is restructuring its economy, moving into other sectors such as financial services, light engineering goods, precision plastics and computer products.
To learn more about this author, visit Africa Renewal's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
|
|
Africa Renewal
(Visit Africa's Website)
The Africa Renewal information programme,
produced by the Africa Section of the
United Nations Department of Public
Information, provides up-to-date
information and analysis of the major
economic and development challenges facing
Africa today. Among the major items it
produces is the renowned magazine, Africa
Renewal (formerly Africa Recovery), which
first appeared in 1987. It also produces a
range of public information materials,
including backgrounders, press releases
and feature articles. It works with the
media in Africa and beyond to promote the
work of the United Nations, Africa and the
international community to bring peace and
development to Africa.
|
|
|
Africa Renewal's
Complete
List Of
African-Accounts
Articles
|
|
If you enjoyed this article, get Africa Renewal's Complete List of African-Accounts Articles For FREE!
|
|
|
|
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
