Gugulethu Yeti-Moyana/Madikizela_zw/SheLeader

What we, the young people of Zimbabwe, are asking of our government is very simple: JOBS, JOBS, JOBS! Yet, the ZANU-PF-led government has demonstrably failed to deliver on this fundamental responsibility. For nearly two decades, our parents have invested thousands of dollars in our education, making enormous personal and financial sacrifices in the hope that one day their children would graduate, secure decent employment, earn a reasonable salary, and live dignified, independent lives. Tragically, thousands of young people graduate every year only to be confronted by a struggling economy that offers them little hope of meaningful employment or a sustainable livelihood. After years of studying and sacrificing, many are left with certificates and degrees but no jobs, no economic security, and an uncertain future. Youth unemployment in Zimbabwe is not merely an economic statistic; it is a national crisis with profound social and psychological consequences. The frustration, hopelessness, and economic exclusion arising from unemployment have contributed to the growing vulnerability of some young people to drug and substance abuse as they struggle to cope with the distress of a future that seems increasingly uncertain. This is the human cost of failed economic policies, industrial decline, and a government that has consistently failed to create sufficient opportunities for its young people. The solution is neither complicated nor beyond our reach: industrialise the country, revive our productive sectors, support local enterprises, attract productive investment, and create decent, sustainable jobs for young people. Zimbabwe cannot build a prosperous future while its industries decline, its productive capacity remains constrained, and its educated youth are denied opportunities to contribute meaningfully to national development. Since independence in 1980, ZANU-PF has had decades to transform Zimbabwe into an industrialised economy capable of providing decent livelihoods for its citizens. Yet, decades of economic mismanagement, industrial decline, and policy failures have left the country struggling to generate sufficient employment for its growing workforce. Today, many young Zimbabweans are compelled to leave their homeland in search of greener pastures, better opportunities, and dignified livelihoods abroad—not necessarily because they want to abandon their country, but because their country has failed to provide them with viable prospects at home. Our demand is clear: we do not want handouts; we want opportunities. We do not want political rhetoric; we want tangible economic transformation. We do not want to be reduced to campaign mobilisers and political spectators; we want to be active participants in building the economy and shaping the future of our country. Zimbabwe's young people deserve more than empty promises. We deserve decent jobs, productive industries, economic opportunities, and a government that recognises employment not as a political favour, but as an urgent national priority. The future of this country cannot be built on the suffering, frustration, and forced migration of its youth. A country that educates its young people but cannot employ them is wasting its greatest resource. Zimbabwe must industrialise, create jobs, and restore hope—or risk sacrificing an entire generation to unemployment, poverty, drug abuse, and economic exile. In the name of the people-until victory always! #Aluta✊️