Youth Unemployment and Government Pro-Employment Policies in Zimbabwe

Yıl 2020, Sayı: 78, 229 - 256, 25.06.2020

Noah Maulanı , Billy Agwanda

https://doi.org/10.26650/jspc.2019.78.0039

Öz

Youth unemployment remains a global threat pushing youths to participate in various unlawful and dangerous activities. In Zimbabwe, a weak economy and domestic sociopolitical challenges have pushed youth unemployment rates to one of the highest in the continent and globally. Despite accounting for the largest population, Zimbabwean youths continue to be marginalized from the national development discourse, and this has had a general negative impact on the Zimbabwean national development agenda. The National Youth Policy, enacted in 2000 by the government to address youth unemployment through a multi-sectoral framework, has resulted in minimal progress. This paper adopts an in-depth qualitative literature review of academic articles, government reports, World Bank and IMF reports to conduct an analysis of the root causes of high youth unemployment rates in Zimbabwe, its effects and the performance of the measures undertaken by the government to address the problem. This study has identified frequent economic crises, weak education system, and poor implementation of macroeconomic policies by the government as some of the challenges increasing the rates of youth unemployment.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Zimbabwe, Youth unemployment, Policies, Impact and challenges

Destekleyen Kurum

The authors declared that this study has received no financial support.

Kaynakça

• Agnes, I. A. I. (2010). Youth unemployment in Nigeria: causes and related issues. Canadian social science, 6(4), 231–237.
• Ansell, N. (2002). Secondary education reform in Southern Africa and the needs of rural girls: pronouncements, policy, and practice. Comparative education, 91–112.
• Anyanwu, J. C. (2014). Does Intra-African Trade Reduce Youth Unemployment in Africa? Tunis Belvédère: African Development Bank Group. Appiah-Kubi, J. (2018).
• Challenges Encountered in community development in urban slums: A study of Ashaiman, Ghana. International Journal of Science: Basic and Applied Research, 81–93.
• Awogbenle, A. C., & Iwuamadi, K. C. (2010). Youth unemployment: Entrepreneurship development programme as an intervention mechanism. African Journal of Business Management, 831–835.
• Aydın, G., Nyadera I. N., & M. Onder M. (2020). Strategic management in Turkey’s public sector: Reforms and application issues. Public Organization Review. HYPERLINK “https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-020-00463-8” doi.org/10.1007/s11115 020-00463-8
• Ayhan, F. (2016). Youth unemployment as a growing global threat. Актуальні проблеми економіки, (7), 262–269.
• Ayhan, F., & Gebesoglu, P. F. (2020). Analysis of The Economic Effects of Syrian Migration on Turkish Labor Market in Migration and Urbanization: Local Solutions for Global Economic Challenges, Ed.Denis Ushakov, Pages: 177-198, ISBN:9781799801115,
• Baah-Boateng, W. (2016). The youth unemployment challenge in Africa: What are the drivers? The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 413–431.
• Besada, H., & Moyo, N. (2008). Zimbabwe in Crisis: Mugabe’s Policies and Failures. SSRN Electronic Journal.
• Bhebhe, T., Bhebhe, R. K., & Bhebhe, B. S. (2016). An investigation into the causes of unemployment among youths in the city of Harare. Global Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
• Bhebhe, T. B., Sulochana, N., Muranda, Z., Sifile, O., & Chavhunduka, D. M. (2015). Effects of the educated youth unemployment nexus in Zimbabwe. Journal Of Humanities And Social Science, 01–11.
• Chagunta, F. (2002). Youth entrepreneurship: Meeting the key policy challenges. Oxford: Wolfson College Press.
• Chetsanga, C., & Muchenje, T. (2003). An Analysis of the Cause and Effect of Brain Drain in Zimbabwe. Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre.
• Chirisa, I. (2011). Youth, Unemployment, and Peri-Urbanity in Zimbabwe: a snapshot of lessons from Hatcliffe. International Journal of Politics and Good Governance.
• Chitiyo, M., Hughes, M. E., Changara, M. D., Chitiyo, G., & Montgomery, K. M. (2017). Special education professional development needs in Zimbabwe. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 48-62.
• Constitution of Zimbabwe 2013 Deyo, F. C. (2016). Social reconstructions of the world automobile industry: Competition, power, and industrial flexibility. Springer.
• Dorsey, B. (1989). Educational development and reform in Zimbabwe. Comparative Education Review, 40-58.
• Eastwood, J. B., Conroy, R. E., Naicker, S., West, P. A., Tutt, R. C., & Plange-Rhule, J. (2005). Loss of health professionals from sub-Saharan Africa: the. Lancet: Public Health.
• Ebaidalla, E. M. (2016). Analysis of youth unemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa: determinants and possible ways forward. African Journal of Economic and Sustainable Development, 5(4), 302–317.
• Galal, A. (2002). The paradox of education and unemployment in Egypt. Cairo: Egyptian Center for Economic Studies.
• Garwe, E. C. (2015). Quality assurance in higher education in Zimbabwe. Research in Higher Education Journal, 1–12.
• Gerla., V. B. (2016). Unemployment protection systems: The experiences of developed and transition countries.
• Gukurume, S. (2018). Navigating precarious livelihoods: Youth in the SME sector in Zimbabwe.
• Gukurume, S. (2019). Chinese migrants and the politics of everyday life in Zimbabwe. Asian Ethnicity, 20(1), 85–102.
• Hussamanns, R. (2007). Measurement of employment, Unemployment, and Underemployment – Current international Standards and issues in their application.
• ILO. Geneva International Labour Organization (2012). Youth Employment Interventions in Africa A Mapping Report of the Employment and Labour Sub-Cluster of the Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) for Africa.
• ILO, Geneva. International Labour Organization. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/global/ about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_615590/lang--en/index.htm
• International Labour Organization (2019). Quick Guide on Interpreting the Unemployment Rate. Geneva: International Labour Office.
• Jerie, S. (2015). Urban youth unemployment in Zimbabwe: nature, challenges, and consequences. Urban Youth Unemployment in Eastern and Southern Africa: Features, Consequences and Cut-Back Strategies, 40–62.
• Kamete, A. Y. (2018). Pernicious assimilation: reframing the integration of the urban informal economy in Southern Africa. Urban Geography, 39(2), 167–189.
• Kang’ethe, S. M., & Mafa, D. (2015). Exploring the panacea and perfidy of indigenization as a driver to avert youth unemployment in Zimbabwe. Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology, 335–340.
• Kanyenze, G. ( 2010). Youth Unemployment in Zimbabwe. Geneva: ILO. Kanyongo, G. Y. (2005). Zimbabwe’s public education system reforms: Successes and challenges. International Education Journal, 65–74.
• Keynes, J. M. (1935). The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money.
• Khumalo, N. B. (2016). Are we clear on indigenization and youth empowerment in Zimbabwe? The views of some young Zimbabweans on the government’s indigenization and youth empowerment initiatives. Oral History Journal of South Africa, 4(1), 70–81.
• Knack, S., & Keefer, P. (1995). Institutions and Economic Performance: Cross-Country Tests Using AlternativeInstitutional Indicators. Munich Personal RePEc Archive.
• Kongolo, M. (2010). Job creation versus job shedding and the role of SMEs in economic development. African Journal for Business Management, 2288–2295.
• Lall, S. (1995). Structural adjustment and the African industry. World Development, 23(12), 2019–2031.
• Lall, S. V., & Deichmann, U. (2009 ). Density and DisastersEconomics of Urban Hazard Risk. World Bank Fınance Department.
• Lasswell, D, H. (1956). The Decision process. Maryland: University of Maryland Press. Lindblom, C. E. (1965). The Intelligence of Democracy. New York: Free Press.
• Luebker, M. (2008). Employment, unemployment, and informality in Zimbabwe: Concepts and data for coherent policy-making.
• Macheka, T., & Masuku, S. (2019). Youth participation structures in Zimbabwe: A lens into the experiences of rural youth within WADCOs and VIDCOs.
• Madambi, M. ( 2008). Educations at cultural crossroads: a struggle for meaningful education in Zimbabwe.
• Makanda, Pascal T., Davie Mutasa, and Maurice Taonezvi Vambe (2013). Youth empowerment and indigenization in Zimbabwe.” Commonwealth Youth and Development, 11(2), 50–60.
• Mamdani, M. (2009). Lessons of Zimbabwe: Mugabe in Context. Concerned African Scholars.
• Mamukwa, E., Lessem, R., & Schieffer, A. (2016). Afrintuneurship: Towards Integral African Enterprise Development: Integral green Zimbabwe –the storyline. Routledge, 172–192.
• McConnell, A. (2010). Policy Success, Policy Failure and Grey Areas In-Between. Journal of Public Policy, 345–362.
• McGovern, R. (2013). Zimbabwe’s National Youth Service Program.
• Michaels, D., Couper, I., Mogodi, M. S., Hakim, J. G., Talib, Z., Mipando, H. M., . . . Simuyemba, M. (2017). A peer evaluation of the community-based education programme for medical students at the University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences: A southern African Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) collaboration. African Journal of Health Professions Education, 138–143.
• Ministry of Youth. (2013). National Youth Policy. Harare: Ministry of Youth. Ministry of Youth. (2000). The National Youth Policy. Harare: Ministry of Youth.
• Mlatsheni, C. (2002 ). Why is Youth Unemployment so High and Unequally spread in South Africa? Capetown: University of Capetown.
• Murinda, E. (2014). Skills training and the employment situation of young people in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe country report for the 2014 Ministerial Conference on youth unemployment. Abidjan.
• Muvunzi, T. (2011). The Impact of Structural Adjustment Programmes on Zimbabwe’s Public Health Sector.
• Ncube, M. (2000). Employment, unemployment and the growth of labour policy in Zimbabwe. Harare: University of Zimbabwe.
• Ngwenya, S., & Boshoff, N. (2018). Valorization: the case of the Faculty of Applied Sciences at the National University of Science and Technology. Zimbabwe. South African Journal of Higher Education, 215–236.
• Nherera, C. M. (2018). Rethinking Technical and Vocational Education and Training in the Context of the New Curriculum Framework for Primary and Secondary Education 2015-2022 in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research.
• Nkechi, O., & Lawrence., O. (2016). Youth Unemployment and Peace in Nigerian Society. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences.
• Nyadera I.N., Islam M.N. (2020) Link Between Administration, Politics, and Bureaucracy. In: Farazmand A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham.
• Nyadera I. N., Kisaka M. O., & Agwanda B., (2020) Fragile State, Just War and the Crisis in Counterterrorism: Reflections on Boko Haram and Nigeria’s War on Terrorism, African Journal on Terrorism, 8(1) 54–73.
• Nyadera, I. N. (2018). South Sudan conflict from 2013 to 2018: Rethinking the causes, situation and solutions. African Journal on Conflict Resolution, 18(2), 59–86.
• O’Higgins, N. (2001). Youth unemployment and employment policy: A global perspective. Geneva: International Labour Organisation Publication.
• Okafor, E. E. (2011). Youth unemployment and implications for the stability of democracy in Nigeria. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa.
• Onder, M., & Nyadera, I. N. (2020). The role of non-economic drivers in development planning: The case of South Korea and Turkey. International Journal of Public Administration, 43(4), 283–293. doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2019.1628057
• Onder, M., & Nyadera, I. N. (2019). Comparative Administrative Cultures between Developed and Developing Countries.” In: Farazmand A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham.
• Oosterom, M. A. (2019). Youth and social navigation in Zimbabwe’s informal economy:‘Don’t end up on the wrong side’. African Affairs, 118(472), 485–508.
• Qayyum, W. (2007). Causes of Youth Unemployment in Pakistan. Pakistan Development Review, 611–621.
• Quintini, G., Martin, J. P., Martin, S. (2007) The changing nature of the school-to-work transition process in OECD countries. IZA Discussion Papers 2582, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn.
• Ripley, M., & Hartrich, S. (2017). Measuring productive employment.
• Rose, R. (1984). Understanding big government. London: Sage Publication.
• Rusvingo, S. L. (2015). The Zimbabwe soaring unemployment rate of 85%: A ticking time bomb not only for Zimbabwe but the entire SADC region (2014). Global Journal of Management and Business Research.
• Saungweme, T., Matsvai, S., & Sakuhuni, R. C. (2014). Econometric analysis of unemployment, output, and growth of the Informal Sector in Zimbabwe (1985to2013). international journal of economics research, 1–9.
• Salvador, R. G., & Leiner-Killinger, N. (2008). An analysis of youth unemployment in the euro area. ECB Occasional Paper, (89).
• Schneider, G. E. (1999). An institutionalist assessment of structural adjustment programs in Africa. Journal of Economic Issues, 33(2), 325–334.
• Szirmai, A., Gebreeyesus, M., Guadagno, F., & Verspagen, B. (2013). Promoting productive employment in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Terziev, V., & Arabska, E. (2015). Social policy and social programming: key implications concerning the development of active labor market policies and employment. 17th International Academic Conference. Vienna: University of Rousse.
• Timbwari, L. (2015). Youth unemployment in Zimbabwe . 30 37.
• Topel, R. H., Ward, M. P. (1992). Job mobility and the careers of young men. Q J Econ, 107(2), 439–79.
• United Nation. (2007). World Youth Report. New York: United Nations Publications. United Nations (2020). Zimbabwe Demographics.
• United Nations (2018). Retrieved from http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Metadata. aspx?IndicatorId=0&SeriesId=597
• UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, (2019). Youth population trends and sustainable development. HYPERLINK “https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/documents/ youth/fact-sheets/YouthPOP.pdf” https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/documents/youth/ fact-sheets/YouthPOP.pdf
• World Bank. (2020). The World Bank In Zimbabwe. https://www.worldbank.org/en/ country/zimbabwe/overview#1
• Vroey, M. D. (2004). Involuntary Unemployment: The Elusive Quest for a Theory. Conference on the History of macroeconomics. Louvain-la-neuve: Université catholique de Louvain.
• World Bank (2012). World Development Report 2013: Jobs. Washington, DC: World Bank
• World Bank (2017 ). Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM. TOTL.ZS
• World Bank (2017 ). Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.1524.ZS
• World Bank. (2018). World Bank Data. Retrieved from World Bank: https://data. worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS
• World Health Organisation (2016). Zimbabwe Demographics.
• Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) (2019). Ohchr Study On Youth And Human Rights: Youth In Zimbabwe. HYPERLINK “https://www.ohchr.org/ Documents/Issues/Youth/ZimbabweHRCommission.pdf” https://www.ohchr.org/ Documents/Issues/Youth/ZimbabweHRCommission.pdf
• Zimstat. (2017). Inter censal demographic survey. Harare: Zimstats.
• Zinhumwe, C. (2007). The youth and unemployment in Zimbabwe. Building a Future with Decent Work for Young People. Harare.