By Bongubukhosi Chantelle Ncube
In 1980s Zimbabwe, a university degree was a golden key. For millennials, higher education opened doors to stable jobs in government, banks, schools, or the postal service. Graduates could count on employment and even aspire to own property before turning thirty.
But for today’s youth—Gen Z—the same degree unlocks nothing but uncertainty.
Across Africa, statistics reveal a grim picture. According to the African Development Bank, nearly 60% of unemployed people on the continent are under 25, despite record education levels. In Zimbabwe, youth unemployment hovers around 80%, leaving thousands of qualified teachers, engineers, and doctors jobless. The irony is bitter: this is Africa’s most educated generation and its least employed.
“We were told, ‘Go to school, finish your degree, and life will reward you,’” says 23-year-old Ruth Mupotaringa, a civil engineering graduate now selling fruit at a Harare roadside stall—“and even that is near impossible due to recent injunctions.”
“Now they tell us to ‘hustle’ because degrees are useless. What changed? The sad answer: not us, the system. A system that failed our generation.”
The system, indeed.
Decades of misrule, grand corruption, and economic mismanagement have hollowed out Zimbabwe’s promise. While Cameroon’s 91-year-old President Paul Biya has ruled since 1982—symbolizing Africa’s entrenched leadership—Zimbabwe’s own political elite presided over hyperinflation, collapsed public services, and capital flight. Land reforms, marred by patronage, crippled agriculture; state coffers were looted while youth watched factories shutter.
Where old guard writes policy, youth bear consequences. As formal jobs vanish, young Africans turn to entrepreneurship out of necessity. Informal trading, digital hustles, and startups have exploded—yet these offer no pensions, health insurance, or security.
Scholars link this frustration to surging activism.
“When an entire generation is shut out of economic life, they turn to politics not because they’re radical, but desperate,” notes Dr. Tawanda Jirira of the University of Zimbabwe.
From #FeesMustFall in South Africa to Zimbabwe’s #ThisFlag protests, youth demand not just jobs—but a future worth fighting for.
Unlike their parents, Gen Z knows education no longer guarantees stability. The social contract—work hard, study, succeed—lies broken. And in that breach, a new truth emerges: if the system won’t hire us, we must dismantle it.