A death blow for the youth vote in Zimbabwe?
Tuesday, July 31st, 2012 by Marko PhiriA young man pissed off with his joblessness packed his bags over the weekend to join the rest of his family in the now clichéd but still very painfully true great trek to Jo’burg. Another young graduate of the School of Mines found himself jobless after having tasted the sweet mining dollars for a few months somewhere in Gwanda. He is presently holed up with his old parents somewhere in rural Masvingo contemplating his next move. This young man already has a brother working in Mozambique, I suspect that’s where he is also headed. These two young men whose demographic is considered by some pundits as the largest voting bloc in the country is expected to vote in droves in the coming polls. As some parties cry out for the Diaspora vote, it is a rather harsh reality that these parties either choose to ignore or simply have no clue how to address the issue that some potential voters are actually leaving the country. Talk about life’s painful choices: stick around and fix this joblessness through the ballot and still have to contend with the present hunger pangs. Tough choices, hey, and the usual suspects will add, a tough call for patriotism.