By Alfred Koroma
Okada riding is one of the common informal jobs for youth in Sierra Leone
Osman Kamara, a 30-year-old Sociology graduate from Fourah Bay College, struggles to support his wife and two children without formal employment. To make ends meet, he engages in small-scale phone sales, acting as a middleman between buyers and shop owners. While this hustle provides a temporary solution, it is far from the stable career he envisioned after years of higher education.
Osman recalls applying for a government job through the Public Service Commission, only to later discover that positions had already been filled through political and personal connections.
“I have tried in other offices, and it’s almost the same thing. They shortlist you for an interview, but the outcome is already decided. If you don’t have the right connections, your application is just a formality,” he explains.
Unemployment and Social Instability
Osman’s experience reflects a harsh reality for many young graduates in Sierra Leone. Youth unemployment remains one of the most pressing challenges in the country still recovering from the scars of a brutal civil war that ended in 2002.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates the structural youth unemployment rate to be as high as 70%, highlighting that a significant portion of young people are forced into informal, unstable, or underpaid work.
August 2022 anti-government protest was largely championed by youth.
Historically, youth unemployment has been a major driver of social unrest in the country. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) identified it as a key factor contributing to the country’s civil war, warning that without proper intervention, similar crises could arise. The Special Investigative Committee that examined the violent August 10, 2022, protests also pointed to youth unemployment as one of the main socio-economic triggers of the unrest.
Government Efforts and challenges
The TRC’s final report recommended a strong focus on youth employment through skills training and support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
So over the years, successive governments have introduced various initiatives aimed at addressing the issue of youth unemployment. Policies such as the National Youth Policy, the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) program, and the Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment Project, designed to equip young people with skills and create job opportunities.
These initiatives have not only faced multiple challenges such as inadequate funding, poor implementation, but many young people in the country, despite having acquired qualifications from some of those initiatives, face limited job opportunities in both the public and private sectors.
The government, constrained by a weak economy and limited resources, is still unable to absorb the growing number of youth that graduate from those learning institutions every year.
At the same time, jobs in the private sector, which could serve as a viable alternative, are limited due to inadequate investment in the sector. These challenges have made youth unemployment a persistent and seemingly unsolvable issue in the country.
Consequences
Lacking clear employment opportunities, Osman and numerous other young individuals are trapped in a cycle of frustration. Many choose to migrate or resort to informal work, such as petty trading or becoming motorcycle taxi riders (Okada or Kekeh). Others turn to politics, making them susceptible to manipulation, involvement in protests, or even criminal activities, driven by the belief that political connections are the only way to secure jobs.
“This creates a sense of injustice and inequality among young people,” says Mohamed Awuwa Kamara, a civil society activist and National Coordinator for youth led advocacy organization, Adolescents and Youth Mechanism.
“lack of job opportunities makes youth feel excluded and hopeless,” he said. “This can lead to several detrimental outcomes, affecting national unity and social cohesion.”
To prevent further instability, the CSO added, leaders must work hard to provide opportunities to young people and promote a culture of inclusivity and fairness, ensuring that opportunities are given based on merit rather than personal connections.
This story is brought to you with support from the Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF) through the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) under the project “Engaging Media and Communities to Change the Narrative on Transitional Justice Issues in Sierra Leone.”
