Gabon: Forestry Sector To Create 50,000 Jobs Within 5 Years

Gabonese head of state, President Ali Bongo Ondimba has announced that his government would create 50,000 jobs in the timber/forestry sector within the next five years.

In his end-of-year address to his country people on December 31, 2020, President Bongo said this operation is intended to absorb the youthful manpower which constitutes the majority of jobless persons in the country.

“Among those within us who have been the most affected by the challenges we are going through, there are some who have perhaps suffered more than others. They are our youth”, President Bongo declared.

The Gabonese head of state estimates that “2021 must be the year of catching up. The occasion to create the basis of a new Gabon. A Gabon which offers to its youth true perspectives for the future. 

“In 2021, we must do more for our youth. In the area of jobs, our absolute priority, our objective is to create each year as many new jobs as the number of youths who enter the job market.

“We will succeed thanks to the intensification of our policy of diversification of the economy. A Diversification which must privilege the sectors that are strong creators of jobs. This is the case of timber, industry, agriculture, tourism or better still, services,” he added. 

President Bongo announced that “within five years, we envisage the creation of 50,000 new jobs only in the timber sector” insisting on the local transformation of local resources.

“Investing in the youth is the best service to render to one’s country. The youth are the future, our future. They are our hope”, the Gabonese leader declared.