Loans alone cannot cure unemployment - Kimei

A leading banker, Dr Charles Kimei, has said access to finance alone cannot become a cure-all to unemployment problems facing the country.

Instead, the opening up of financing avenues should go hand in hand with efforts to upgrade entrepreneurial skills and ability to organize other factors of production profitably.

Dr. Kimei was speaking during a panel discussion at the University of Dar es Salaam Convocation annual general meeting held in Dar es Salaam Friday.

He insisted that people should be made to understand that availability of capital from commercial banks would not become an immediate remedial strategy for solving existing unemployment problems that are facing the country.

Convocation members were discussing the theme `Challenges of Job Creation in Tanzania`.

Dr. Kimei, the Managing Director of CRDB Bank, said the availability of bank loans alone without basic business skills would amount to nothing, even as lending-borrowing would be compromised.

He called for various authorities to engage in enhancing training to potential loan applicants since most that approach banks for possibility of loans are unskilled and illiterate.

On the challenges of job creation, the CRDB bank chief elaborated that the problem is increasing.

Even for those try to venture into self employment, he said, hardly manage to go far because they `lack knowledge of markets, supporting infrastructure and access to financial services`.

Likewise, he said there was need also to change the mindset of the people or job seekers by nurturing their entrepreneurial culture.

Since farming remains to be an important economic sector, he advised the government to put in place a regime of incentives for investors to set up and manage large scale farms and estates.

Speaking during the same discussion, the Director General of SIDO, Mike Laiser said in order to promote employment there should be strategies like graduate entrepreneurship development programmes, promotion of incubation and clustering schemes to serve entrepreneurs.

`There is a need to develop financing schemes to cater for specific business requirements and support infrastructure in urban and rural areas`, he said.

He insisted that the government and private sectors should also have to make heavy investment in skills.

`National economic development and the standards of living are critically dependent on the skills and knowledge of citizens`, he quipped.

He gave as example that countries with heavy investment on vocational and entrepreneurial education have developed qualified workforce.

The event attracted more that 50 people most of whom were academicians, students and general public.
• SOURCE: GUARDIAN