Zimbabwe government must be ready to address unemployment

Obituaries
The disturbing industrial decline, closure of companies and subsequent loss of jobs in the country is making most Zimbabweans frustrated

The disturbing industrial decline, closure of companies and subsequent loss of jobs in the country is making most Zimbabweans frustrated, thereby turning many into criminal activities for survival.

Sunday View BY KIMION TAGWIREI

It is disheartening that the government is threatening foreign-owned companies which employ lots of Zimbabweans while local companies are struggling.

Is the government concerned with those losing jobs? The rate of unemployment in the country is alarming while the cost of living is going up.

A number of those employed are failing to meet their basic needs as life under Zanu PF leadership is getting difficult, creating a sense of hopelessness. The majority of people who are out of employment are desperately turning to theft, prostitution, violence, fraud, corruption and many other criminal activities to make ends meet.

The poor have a greater motivation to commit crime to satisfy their needs and wants. So, by ignoring the unemployment issue and ruining the industry, the government is creating criminals.

The media is awash with stories about robberies, classic prostitution and other ills which are rooting from unemployment.

Without better means of survival, most people end up falling into crime to eke out a living.

If the government keeps quite to unemployment, crime will rise across the nation because the majority of those without employment hopelessly turn to the dark side — stealing and sometimes killing to make theft possible or to eliminate witnesses of the crime.

As unemployment continues to creep upwards, a tragic crisis will befall Zimbabwe. We will lament as the crime rate continues to rise across the nation.

Many of the unemployed have fallen off the lowest rung of the economic ladder, others have experienced a drop in fortune from middle class and upper class positions to destitution — a number of such frustrated and angry people will delve into criminal activities to regain lost fortunes.

There is urgent need to address the high unemployment issue before the worse comes to the worst.

The kind of prostitutes we have seen and heard of in hotels and lodges will increase and turn to other unpredictable, wicked acts in an endeavour to survive. What is saddening is that the innocent and defenceless citizens will bear the brunt of all these ills.

Government officials who are well secured will tighten their belts to safeguard their wealth while the suffering Zimbabweans will be robbed of their hard earned possessions.

That the government is quite about the rising unemployment and (as if that is not enough), threatening foreign companies still employing most Zimbabweans, is a hallmark of a tragedy.

Instead of creating jobs which they promised people during the elections, politicians are threatening to close companies owned by foreigners!

We are in dire need of investors and this is baffling. Indigenisation seems to be heading for a disastrous point —while our indigenous companies are failing to withstand political and economic hemorrhage, ironically we hurriedly, improperly indigenise.

Is our indigenisation really for the good of the nation or for the interests of party cadres?

There are many related questions still unanswered and no one seems ready to answer.

If one wants to quiry about indigenisation the subject of sanctions is brought to the fore. Are sanctions really the root cause of our crisis?