via What’s next Mr President? – DailyNews Live by Lloyd Mbiba 6 NOVEMBER 2013
University and tertiary colleges’ graduates are increasingly taking up menial jobs amid a sharp rise in the number of students graduating without any hope of securing employment, a survey by the Daily News has revealed.
Highly qualified young people are routinely being expected to take on “low-skilled” roles to fill gaps in the workforce.
The number of ex-students in “non-graduate” jobs such as shelf stackers, kombi drivers and vendors is soaring.
At the same time, more university leavers are also being left unemployed due to the dramatic economic downturn.
The majority of students are without work years after graduating.
Employment prospects are getting dim amid a weakening economy and further job losses from public spending cuts.
A snap survey by the Daily News revealed that some graduates have turned to the most basic menial jobs.
Ocean Ngwerume, a public administration graduate from the University of Zimbabwe, said he was now driving a kombi after he failed to get a job.
“I graduated last year and I could not find a job,” he said.
“I applied in many organisations but I failed to get a job. I could not sit at home and do nothing.
“Some of my friends whom I graduated with are now security guards and others are working in restaurants in South Africa.”
Melody Chademana, a marketing graduate from Harare Polytechnic, told the Daily News that she was working at a supermarket after she failed to get a job.
At least 30 000 graduates are churned out from universities and tertiary colleges every year, but most of them fail to secure employment due to the declining job opportunities in the formal job market, a situation that has constantly recurred over the past 10 years.
President Robert Mugabe caps thousands of university students every year but most of them join the unemployed ranks.
This year alone, Mugabe capped 2 860 graduates at the University of Zimbabwe, 566 at Bindura State University, 2001 at National University of Science and Technology, 1 343 at the Great Zimbabwe University and 1 245 at Chinhoyi University of Technology.
Nearly 4000 are expected to graduate from the Midlands State University.
But soon after the pomp and fanfare that accompanies the graduation ceremonies, most of the graduates face a bleak future, with even State firms retrenching.
The country’s unemployment rate tops 85 percent and additional people are becoming jobless every day as more firms shut down citing harsh economic conditions.
A recent survey by the National Social Security Authority (Nssa) said 711 companies in Harare went bust in the period July 2011 to July 2013, rendering 8 336 individuals jobless.
This is an addition to more than 90 companies that have closed shop in Bulawayo since 010, with more than 20 000 workers thrown into the streets.
Believe Tevera, vice president of Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu) said the graduates are at the deep end.
“The situation is not looking good,” Tevera said.
“I know that some of the UZ graduates are into pool game business. Some of the graduates are now cross border traders.
“For some ladies, they have gone into prostitution and l know of a couple of ladies from UZ who do that.
“There is one MSU (Midlands State University) graduate who used his O Level certificate to get a job as a shunter at Zesa. This situation is terrible. Some graduates are vendors selling sweets and airtime. The government needs to create employment so that graduates can make a decent living.”
Martin Mpofu, a journalism graduate from National University of Science and Technology (Nust), said he was now into poultry farming after failing to get a proper job.
One call centre worker who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “Econet advertised that there were call centre vacancies for diploma holders, so l applied using my diploma certificate as l was afraid to be told that l was overqualified. I did my finance degree with Nust but l failed to get the job that l desired so l settled for the call centre,” she said.
Efforts to obtain comment from the ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education was futile as the minister Olivia Muchena and her deputy Godfrey Gandawa were not picking up their phones, while the permanent secretary Washington Mbizvo was said to be out of the country.
COMMENTS
The world has changed; foreign investors are no longer just companies from western countries. And if we make unreasonable demands, the quality investors do not quarrel with you, they just leave quietly, and you will be left to the mercy of chancers, or bottom feeders, who promise you the moon, and deliver nothing, and also rip you off.In opening the door to foreign investment,I do not care what colour the cat is, as long as it catches mice.Blood is red, the sky is blue and U.S dollars are green for everyone.The ‘mice’ are ‘decent jobs’ for the youth. I shudder to think what China, would have been like, if he had not opened up the country to massive investment, and creation of jobs.Gardens are not made by sitting in the shade.Years of political and economic crisis have thrown many people in Zimbabwe into abject poverty. Today eight out of ten people in the country are unemployed. With this number only set to rise, people have few options.First and foremost Zimbabweans are the friendliest people you can ever find anywhere.Zimbabwe has the largest educated population in Africa.Anyone who wants to do business in Zimbabwe no matter how sophisticated, is assured of getting the requisite manpower.With all the above riches, it surprises me why Zimbabweans are not walking tall and working hard to safeguard their country’s riches.All the talk about ‘Third World’ ‘developing’ ‘poor’ and so on are what in South Africa they call ‘Tsotsi Taal’ – the language of the tsotsi – the criminal.All what is required is for us to join hands with the right investors and not ZANU-PF looters and together exploit the riches of our country and in the process uplift the living standards of our people.No more xenophobia, hostility, racism, isolation and selfishness.God helps thοse that help themselves.33 years of mismanagement, corruption and looting by Mugabe and his cronies.Like it or not Zimbabweans are unbelievable gullible and naïve – let’s hope they are not unbelievable stupid too! Do not hold your breath!One consequence of indigenization reforms will result in a sharp decline in capital inflows and foreign-investment, simply because few investors, be they from the West or elsewhere, want to be stripped of half a business after pouring in the capital and know-how. Just as the land seizures created instability and eventual normalization, there is a strong possibility that further reforms will create turbulence and economic insecurity if ZANU-PF fails to ensure a smooth and harmonized investment environment.
It takes time everywhere to get a job in your trained field. I see nothing wrong wiht someone using their O’level certificate to get employment, along the way they will find something. Selling tomatoes with a degree in pocket would yield tremendous wealth. I agree the economy is not well but finger pointing needs to cease and lets collectively work, speak, write with a common goal to better Zimbabwe, not tear each other apart.
I am sorry my child, for what economy are you talking about ?
You know very well who ruined our econmy. It seens you are one of them. Let me be very frank with you. Like it or not Zanu pf is resiponsible. Call a spade a spade man. Wake up and smell the coffee. Thst talk if sanctions is hogwash the economy came to uts knees b4 the so called sanctions. We live in Zim not outside.
Yes Pastor we need the policies that are friendly to investors. As Zimbabweans it is important to accept that we live in a world we share with every one. While we have our own needs and interests we need to accommodate others as well. Even if we produce we need markets for our goods. We therefore need to have friends who will prefer our goods as there is competition. The Bible advises that we should try to make peace with every one….This is not easy but arrogance yields no fruits economically. Hard talk and verbal venom will continue to render our industrial warehouses Pentecostal prayer halls for “indigenous churches” where we can only hold all night prayers but these offer no jobs.
We are called to love each other as brethren by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Book of Acts tells us that we all come from the same blood and so in God there is no colour race or tribe. This nation desperately needs healing and forgiveness. And without repentance restoration can never take place. If there was victory of good over evil in Zimbabwe we would be seeing God’s blessings: we are not. We are a suffering, starving and impoverished nation. This is a sign of judgment. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways; His ways are higher than our ways. Someone once said that if a man choose a road to revenge he must dig two graves. The whole issue of land needed to be resolved but was done in a way that destroyed this nation. let’s begin to fix this before God with forgiveness and tolerance for one another. “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” That’s for all of us. ALL.
Maybe the Diaspora should be encouraged to return, however to do that the government must make conditions to allow them to return. No fear of reprisals or repression on the horizon. Zimbabwe has become a consumer nation dependent on hand outs and remissions from the diaspora. Oh how the Chinese must be gloating.
Jrr56 – who fears reprisal on return from DIASPORA, for what, by who. These graduates have been empowered by getting the degrees. Nigerians are every where because there is no jobs in their country. Use your knowledge and be innovative, they say Bill Gates started his business from his backyard.
I might be poor in economics but starting a business in a country where there is no disposable income will never work. Pple needs jobs to get money and buy. So if all graduates form their businesses who will buy from them if unemployment stands at 85% like in our country. Pliz some of these things just need common sense
DO not just cap graduates yet nothing s done address the unemployment issue.I can’t graduate to sell tomatoes shallow thinking from some Zanu PF puppets.
yes pastor but i don’t think all these sufferings are God’s punishment.After Israel sinned(praying to other gods)God continue to feed Israel with manna.God’s punishment to Israel’s misbehavior was to be sent to slavery(Babylon,threatened by Jebusites)not hunger.So zim’s situation is not God’s punishment Mwari vedu havarange vachiita utsinye.All these sufferings are caused by mismanagement by politicians who view things from opposite direction. instead of calling investors they are chasing them.Oh Lord give THESE PEOPLE FORESIGHT
I’ve spent most of my life waiting for God to show me what to do. When an opportunity comes across my path, I ask God, “should I do it? Should I go?” I wonder if God is a little bit like my friend, sitting across the table, explaining how I don’t have to go — but that, if I choose to stay home, I might really be bummed I missed such an exciting opportunity. I believe God sometimes asks us to do specific things for specific purposes. But most of the time I think he gives us freedom to choose.Something really powerful happens when we believe we get to choose to go, or not go. We stop feeling resentful and passing blame. We start taking accountability for our circumstances and actions.We start embracing difficulty and failure for what it has to offer us. Life on earth is not predestined where God chose before the earth was created who would live, and when and how they would die. Fate and predestination are both false doctrines.What an offensive thought! How dare you! You have sinned for even thinking this and are in need of repentance! Yes you are grieving right now, but how dare you blame it on God and think he doesn’t even care! Remember, God originally provided a perfect home of eternal life in paradise in the Garden of Eden and MAN’S own sin got him kicked out. Have you ever sinned? Jesus, on the other hand, never did sin, but He died for our sins. God gave his only son in death, so we might have life! What we see in this world is not eternity but a temporary state of things.For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Looks like my comment been swallowed, will alow a few more minutes and will respond
I am a development practitioner. All theories of economic development have been tried and non seems to offer a clear cut way to the alleviation of poverty and the enrichment of African people. The situation seems to have disintegrated into individual quests for prosperity by down treading on others. Corruption is now rife in Zimbabwe and neither socialism nor liberalism can help you on that regard.It seems what Zimbabwe needs is a miracle. What we lack is an environment that allows equal distribution of resources and to achieve that now is beyond any mortal’s jurisdiction. Every man who gets to to power will always enrich himself and those close to him before thinking of somebody else. employment is now secured through connections not on merit. That is why even the service delivery is getting more poor by degrees because vanhu vari pamabasa anan sekuru. If corruption could be removed then our economy as reward will be based on merit not on afflictions to relatives. The problem of corruption will perpetuate inefficiency which will in turn stifle economic growth.