President William Ruto has implored world leaders to make Africa the green factory of the world, transforming the world’s largest unemployed population into highly productive constituents of the International Labour Organization [ILO] movement.
Addressing the ILO World of Work Summit in Geneva, Switzerland on Thursday 15th June, on the role of social dialogue and social justice in the changing world of work, Ruto not weird to confront a threat of the magnitude of climate change without a financial mechanism
“As we speak about matters pertaining to work, we must also speak about the millions of jobless people whose voices cannot be heard at conferences like this. The aspirations of the unemployed matter, and should be seen to matter, for ILO,” President Ruto underlined.
The Head of State further noted that the Social Justice For All makes it imperative
to expand the social dialogue, from the tripartite model to a four-sided forum of workers, the employers, government and the under-employed.
“Governments, employers and workers must be equally concerned about the unemployment crisis, and committed
to finding sustainable solutions to it, in order to bring the majority of the world’s population into the ILO ‘s traditional constituency. Majority of the world’s unemployed people live in the Global south, especially in the continent I call
home,”. He emphasised
He pointed out that on average, Africa invests 30% of its BUDGET, or 150
Billion dollars, on educating and training its youth. Only 30% of them join the workforce, and 70% stay unemployed.
“What a waste! This perennial waste of human capital and productive opportunity must squarely form part of the most urgent concerns for workers, employers as well as government.
To actualize the new paradigm shift in global growth and development, a new development financing architecture is imperative,” Ruto noted.
He emphasised that they will be engaging in such conversation next week in Paris, during the Global Stocktake.
“It is the discussion that we shall be refining in Nairobi at the Africa Climate Summit on September 4- 6, 2023.
Hopefully, it is the discourse we shall finally conclude at COP28 in Dubai in December,’’ Ruto disclosed .
He further said that the member countries must realign international financing framework to provide a strong fighting chance in the war on climate change.
“What I propose is neither wishful nor unheard of in terms of nature, scope or speed of necessary change. The existing financial system, which has been in place for 78 years, was crafted out of a series of meetings that took place in Bretton Woods, a small town in the United States, in the course of only one month, July 1944,’’ He added.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Defence and Armed Forces, Dr Ruto, noted that, In 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it took European leaders only 6 months to set up the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
“In June 2022, less than 4 months after the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Germany modified its fundamental law to enable it raise 110 billion dollars to strengthen its defences in a matter of days. These serious crises were addressed through quick resolute and deliberate action. This is evidence of what can be done when stakes are high enough,’’ Head of State emphasized.
The commander-in-chief of the armed forces noted that the stakes have never been as high as now in the climate change existential crisis; “there is no reason why setting up appropriate financial mechanisms should take as long as it has taken us.
Between now and COP28, we have more than enough to design and implement a new architecture of international development financing institutions that is responsive to the urgent needs of the moment.
Effective climate action, which depends on decarbonising global manufacturing and greening global industrialisation, which in turn also relies on the actualisation of a greater role for the Global South and Africa, is a social justice for all moment that must not be wasted,’’ Part of the speech captured by safinews.co.ke
Dr Ruto, encouraged all African countries and the delegates to remain focused, be more determined and inspired to use the momentous forum for social dialogue to make social justice for all a reality by making existential crisis, the unrepresented or under-represented regions of the world, and the entire community of the unemployed visible and relevant to our discussions.
“Social Justice For All is a matter that we cannot afford to neglect, underrate or avoid,’’ He winded up.
He was received by Central Organization of Trade Union, Secretary General, Francis Atwoli, as he is accompanied by Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection Florence Bore, among other notable leaders