AN ASSESSMENT ON CAUSES OF RURAL-URBAN YOUTH MIGRATION AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES ON THE DESTINATION PLACE: THE CASE OF TWO SELECTED SUB-CITIES OF ADDIS-ABABA, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

In recent years the rate of rural-urban migration has become alarming as more people drift into the urban centers every year from the rural areas; it is against this backdrop that this paper examines the causes of rural-urban youth migration and their consequences on the destination place with a reference to two selected sub-Cities of Addis Ababa. A qualitative approach was employed and a survey was carried out amongst 104 youth migrants drawn from Bole and Addis Ketema sub-cities of Addis Ababa specified areas. The analysis indicates that the major causes of rural-urban migration were; mainly, search for employment and because of crop failure. Others migrated in search of better education, as curiosity to be free from family and cultural restrictions, seeking good climate and to use Addis Ababa as a transit to migrate to foreign countries. The analysis also further indicates that some of the problems confronted by migrants in the destination place during arrival were mostly, lack of shelter, shortage of food, lack of medical care and other related consumer items and inability to obtain jobs, secure peace and stability and other social services. It is recommended that the Government should strive to scale up provision of social amenities and required facilities to the rural areas so as to enable rural youths stay in their birth places to be engaged in some developmental activities that would help them find jobs for their livelihoods. In addition to these, vocational training centers should be established in the rural centers for training of the productive youths for self-employment again, in order to curtail the continuous massive migration from rural to urban areas and at the same time to initiate and speed up rural development in all fronts.