Why the unbridled youth loan system alone will not address chronic youth unemployment in Zimbabwe

By Fungai Alexander Mapondera

Recently the Minister of Youth, Indigenization and Economic Empowerment, Patrick Zhuwao launched the much anticipated USD$10 million youth fund under a facility dubbed ‘Localised Empowerment Acceleration Facility’ (LEAF).

The facility will see up to USD$45,000 distributed to each constituency where councillors will be tasked with selecting projects whence capital will be made available.

The facility is a noble idea showing what can be achieved when corporate and government entities work together in seeking to address youth unemployment. However its limitations in terms of accountability on those doing the dispensing and limited financial discipline on the part of those receiving remain worrisome.

This latest loan facility comes after the suspension of the previous CABS funded USD$10 million facility in 2011 that saw over 3,600 projects being funded. The facility was marred by a reported 78% default rate among the beneficiaries.

Critics of the facility at the time decried the alleged partisan manner in which it was distributed. One of those vocal was the then deputy Youth Minister within the Government of National Unity (GNU), Tongai Matutu who went as far as estimating a figure of up to 95% being ZANU PF affiliated youths.

For some of us not easily swayed by such figures as those banded around by Tongai Matutu at the time tried to understand the facility in its entirety. The problem with such figures that are quick to note the percentage of loan recipients along political party line, whose aim can best be described as being sensationalistic, is that they deviate from the core and end up being politicised.

In my opinion there has been a notable lack of underlying frameworks and programs to support these loan facilities. Successive custodians of this strategic portfolio have shown us that they are up to task when it comes to rapid sourcing of funds to disperse as youth loans, however this alone is not enough.

Missing as part of a prospective framework or system is tangible youth entrepreneurship education, adequate independent information hubs to support the youths as well as monitoring and evaluation schemes that both the government and the corporate sector can rely on. All of which can instil some confidence in the funder and the funded.

Given that the previous facility suffered from heavy defaults and with critics already predicting the same fate for LEAF, some serious thought addressing pertinent issues to include the aforementioned frameworks and programs can serve to mitigate on the loan defaults, bolster credibility of the facility at the same time addressing projects that are sustainable and have an added value factor towards the economy.

It is no secret that Zimbabwe like any other country in the world is suffering from high youth unemployment. Unfortunate for us, compounding the problem for Zimbabwe like most other Sub- Saharan African countries is the fact that we have a higher youth population.

In all, developing countries account for almost 90% of the world’s youth, this shocking situation largely affects the poorest of the poor countries. Sure, our youths therefore need all the help they can get. Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere who was the Youth Minister at the time of the first loan facility came to the defence of recipients of the first wave of loans during the launch of LEAF.

Minister Kasukuwere said, “The young people in this country ever since we launched the $10 million fund have had to stand a barrage of criticism, attacks and being made to look like criminals. The youths must be helped to stand up on their feet and not to be told that you can’t do it.”

In Zimbabwe’s case it is the shortfall within the system that sees our youths unnecessarily becoming victims of the same system set up to help them. They are the ones that bear the brunt as highlighted by Minister Kasukuwere. The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon’s recent statement on the plight of youths globally gives an added impetus on the issue.

He said, “Around the world, there is growing recognition of the need to strengthen policies and investments involving young people … Youth can determine whether this era moves toward greater peril or more positive change. Let us support the young people of our world so they grow into adults who raise yet more generations of productive and powerful leaders”

Within the same spirit of the much vaunted ‘Public-Private Partnerships’ (PPPs) that have made such funding facilities possible, I would encourage the Ministry of Youth, Indigenization and Economic Empowerment to work with its partners and put equal zeal in building and monitoring sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems in Zimbabwe as a means of social development and mechanism to tackle youth unemployment in Zimbabwe once and for all.

While this can be done to leverage the youth loans facility, it nevertheless can be independent to that. With a sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem Zimbabwe can tell its own success story – of course we’re no Silicon Valley!

Our COMESA counterpart, Kenya continues to successfully address this thanks to the enthusiasm of President Uhuru Kenyatta to tackle youth unemployment through investment in entrepreneurship technology programs. If there have been attempts in the past, let us assess the status quo of those as part and parcel of the whole exercise.

Let us understand what our core competencies are. For Zimbabwe this could be within manufacturing, mining, agriculture etc. Let’s investigate the status-quo effectiveness and its efficiency alongside any other programs – as there has been many since the indigenisation and empowerment mantra started.

A start-up monitor solution must also be put in place in Zimbabwe as the prime mechanism to continuously map and assess the ecosystem’s performance. As mentioned before there is a notable lack of strategies and entrepreneurial programs that can leverage and bolster government activities. Unfortunately government alone can’t be left to map these out.

I recently discussed this topic of youth unemployment with an associate of mine who is a youth trainer with an organization in Zimbabwe. While he is an avid youth trainer he nevertheless acknowledged that he too could benefit from extensive insights into how to contribute effectively towards addressing youth unemployment in his capacity as a youth trainer.

Therefore there is also a clear need for scalable entrepreneurship training programs and train-the-trainer initiatives for sustainable development within this entrepreneurial ecosystem.

To cap this there needs to be a bridge between the education system in Zimbabwe and the entrepreneurship driven labour market – as youth entrepreneurship should be a long term career choice that should be viewed as such and given the requisite support.

For the entrepreneurial ecosystem to be successful there is also need to break away from politicking and adopt the big tent approach, to borrow the current much used opposition leaders’ phrase.

The Ministry of Youth, Indigenization and Economic Empowerment will need to mandate a national task force dedicated to improving the state of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the country, including chambers of commerce, the government, universities, large employers, investors, entrepreneurs, among other key stakeholders.

This taskforce serves as the central body responsible for supervising the ongoing development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

It’s time our unemployed youths start looking at entrepreneurship as a viable career choice rather than a stopgap in the face of adversity and economic down turn as currently experienced in Zimbabwe.

Given the right support and sustainable ecosystems to flourish, youths will also be in a position to quantify their contribution towards creating employment in an economy reeling with over 80% unemployment. Minister Zhuwao recently reminded us that as the architect of the 2.2 million jobs figure, it is still possible to deliver within this parliament on what his party promised on the campaign trail in 2013.

I put it to the Honourable Minister that If done right, undoubtedly this could be that opportunity to start chipping away at that number, after all the only way to eat an elephant is one small bite at a time!

Fungai Alexander Mapondera is a digital transformation strategist with a keen interest in social entrepreneurship. Connect with me on: Twitter: @SavileImage |LinkedIn: https://ch.linkedin.com/in/mapondera