THE RELEVANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENTAND EMPLOYMENT TO POVERTY ALLEVIATION As countries yearn for rapid economic development, great emphasis is put on developing the available human resources. It is imperative to note at the onset that the character and pace of the economic and social development of a nation is always more assuredly determined by its human resources. As a matter of fact human resource development serves as an engine for a vibrant socio-economic development of a country as manifested in a statement once made by Professor Erediitch Honbison of Princeton University. He said that human resource constitute the ultimate basis for wealth of nations; capital and natural resources are passive factors of production, human beings are the active agents who accumulate capital, exploit natural resources; build schools economic and political organisation and carry forward national development. Clearly, a country which is unable to develop the skills and knowledge of its people and to utilise them efficiently in building its national economy will be unable to develop anything else. Japan, the pyre of modern science and technology is a model for emulation. In the nineteen century during the time of Meigi Japan invested heavily the surplus from the traditional sector for a technological transfer from the West. The government of Meigi committed itself to universal education for all. Japanese youths were sent to the West to acquire skills in all dimensions and were trained in a variety of areas. The skills and training acquired juxtaposed with the Confusionist ideology of total dedication to the state helped a great deal in matching the acquired Western technological know-how with the existing structures in place.. Consequently, the skills and knowledge acquired from the West was used to develop both the agricultural and industrial sectors. However, increased agricultural and industrial production paved the way for advancement in all sectors. The Economies of many less developed countries suffered set backs during the post - colonial era - set-backs that were characterised by the pre-eminence of undeveloped available human resources. To get out of this undesirable situation, governments of LDCs realised that the principal institutional mechanism for developing human skills and knowledge is the formal education system, which they endeavoured to harness. Research has established that the rapid quantitative expansion of educational opportunities that guarantee the attainment of the required knowledge and skills holds the basic key to national development. The more education, skills and training achievable the better productive the people become and the more rapid the development of a nation. However, the role of formal education is not limited to imparting the knowledge and skills that enables individuals to function as economic change agents in their societies, formal education also imparts values, ideas and attitudes. On the contrary, chronic absolute poverty, high level of dependency and pervasive economic disparities between rich and poor is evident in LDCs. Unemployment and under employment have reached staggering proportions with the "educated" increasingly swelling the ranks of those without jobs. Figures from the 1993 population census in the Gambia indicated that illiteracy is still a problem with 62% and 25% for male and females of 20 years and above respectively. This shows that a large chunk of the population which is considered active is still a victim of the illness of illiteracy. As also shown by the same study 70.2% of the populations are unskilled with female comprising about 50% of the population dominating the private/formal sector accounting for 62%. This occupational grouping also has the lowest average monthly salary at D312, which is 54% less than the total average. In addition to this, women who head most families in the Gambia and on whom a large portion of the population depend, account for 57% of the workforce in the agriculture sector they are under-represented in other key sectors. However to improve the quality of life for all, the International Conference on Population and Development and ICPD+5 held in Cairo and Beijing respectively put much emphasis on the well being of women and children. Specific among these are; - The formulation and adoption of appropriate policies and programmes aimed at striking a balance between the population growth and economic growth which will further gear towards achieving poverty eradication. - Increasing efforts in developing the available human resource - guarantee rights for women and children - Increase information, education and communication efforts on population and development issues - integration of population issues into development initiative of the government As women are generally the poorest of the poor and at the same time key actors in the development process, their education, training and skills development will go a long way in eradicating poverty and promoting sustained economic growth in the context of sustainable development. In brief, a well educated, trained and skilled population serves as a base for investment and job creation. In effect, earning levels, will increase if backed by a suitable microeconomic environment which will enable the population to improve upon its quality of life. The involvement of the government and private sector is therefore needed to ensure proper planning at both micro and macro levels around resource mobilisation and allocation for investment in capacity building. In this regard, the performance of the Gambia Government in this area to say the least is satisfactory but one may hasten to add that it is about time our educational curriculum is reviewed and training plans re-assessed to give priority to qualifications in technical and professional fields where qualified personnel are lacking. The government should also try to strike a balance between the needs of the labour market and the skills and training acquired This will ensure the gradual adoption of a skills based HRD policy at the national level. Consequently, developing the human resource of a nation and the creation of job opportunities will as a result increase production in all sectors and finally translate into self-sufficiency and improved quality of life for all. This is also achievable if there is an equitable distribution of scarce resources among sectors. We say this because sectral differences in terms of allocation of resources if not checked can cause a lot of havoc to the economy of the country. However the government should also look into the imbalances between regions and sectors in terms of facilities, prices and wages among others. Inequitable distribution of resources among sectors and regions as was prevailing previously, of late, has resulted to the current imbalance of human inhabitation among regions; mass influx of work force from the traditional sector to the modern sector, wide spread income disparities, violent urbanisation, idleness among the employable population and the unbearable pressure on the existing infrastructural facilities among others. However, this situation is further aggravated by the lack of correlation between a change in price of consumable commodities and a change in wages. Further to this is the unpleasant wage difference between public and private sectors. This if let to triumph will further worsen the existing income disparities and as a result poverty condition will also be aggravated. Therefore, every Gambia should pose to emulate the amoeba in knowing the implications of a large population and family sizes. As a matter of fact, the problems mentioned are to some extend due to the high population growth rate Gambia is presently facing. It is important to note that, no Government effort will hold water if a proper planning is not made on its population. Most often than not government's development plans are always in disarray when there is too little resources for too many people. We can learn lessons from India, a nation with an unmatched endowment of wealth and human population. This as a result contributed to the government's lopsided and undeceive development agenda. Despite all efforts made the government of India poverty and mass unemployment is at its peak. Indeed, no body should tell us as to how large and uncontrollable population size retards the development process of a country. Gambia was not facing the problem of high dependency, incidence of abject poverty, mass unemployment, etc etc when its population was small. Gambia ranks one of the countries having a high population growth rate. Because of the high dependency ratio and the tendency to move to the urban centres Gambia is going away from the extended or joint family system to a virtual nuclei families where it is not the extended relation that matters but one's sons and daughters. Social projections are that it will be a matter of FANG KUNG FANG KUNG in the long when there is very little for very many people. The truth is that governments are really doing their utmost to strike a balance the economic growth and population growth, it is our own behaviour and attitudes toward a positive change which are to blame. This should be a course of concern and a food for thought for every Gambian. Therefore, Religious leaders, opinion leaders and policy makers who hold the rein of change in society should endeavour to change the negative views on the use of modern contraceptive and family planning. Well, experience has shown that the campaign for the use of modern contraceptives has gathered a lot of cloud over the population program initiatives. The notion that Gambia is an Islamic country is even an antidote for our population problems. Therefore, the campaign for the use of modern contraceptives will be not be necessary if we should adhere to the principles of Islam. The government of the Gambia in its move to solve the problem of abject poverty adopted variable policies and programs which if worshiped will go a long way in serving as the panacea for the upliftment of the lot of Gambians. In this vein, government, NGOS and private sector commitments are the fuel for a success in any socio-economic development of a country. _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. 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