The youth situation in Zimbabwe

February 24, 2021

Still in the spirit of commemorating the Youth day,there is need to do a thorough environmental scan of the youth situation in our country and the greater world,because remembering this day only is not enough but rather it has to come with reforms and policies targeted at alleviating the vulnerability of youths both male and female. What seems to be the heaviest burden on the youths is unemployment. There is an influx of educated but  unemployed graduates roaming the streets aimlessly without much  hope for the future. Notably the supply side of graduates surpasses by miles their demand with tertiary institutions sprouting rampantly and others scaling up enrollment in a terrain with stifled employment opportunities. The catastrophy of these youths is failing to progress their lives further from parental support. Most are failing to get properly married and build peaceful and sustainable relationships because of poverty, with some opting to engage in illicit activities for survival.Transactional sex is also rife with now  even  males just  as with  females, sleeping with older rich people for money. After all this is exhausted, it sheds the light on the fact that much of society’s problems stem from this lack of empowerment of the youth. The transmission of HIV and other STIs will continue since it is hard for these youths to negotiate safe sex when desperate. Corruption and crime will become the order of the day for the youths to irk a living, prostitution, GBV will also escalate unabated. It is then a call to the government and relevant stakeholders to program for the youths and create spaces where youths can be productive. Given that they constitute the majority of the population, it is appalling to even imagine where we are going as a society if this reality is not auctioned and things continue like this.