Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the weekend claimed Zanu PF had met its 2013 pledge to create 2,2 million jobs, which leaves many wondering whether he is living in a parallel universe.
Comment: NewsDay Editor
It is not a secret that since the 2013 elections, more people have lost their jobs and the government appears clueless on how to stem the tide.
Company closures and general joblessness have been the country’s hallmark in the last four years and it is unbelievable that a senior government official can claim that they have created jobs.
A walk along most major towns and cities will reveal the extent of joblessness and the scale to which people have resorted to vending as a last-gasp means of surviving.
The economy has shrunk at an alarming rate in the past few years and it is just impossible for jobs to be created at that rate.
The situation was further compounded by the 2015 Zuva Supreme Court ruling, which saw companies terminating contracts on three months’ notice for several thousands of people, who to this day are struggling or have given up on quests to get other jobs.
Either Mnangagwa was speaking in jest or was being dishonest because his statements do not tally with what is on the ground.
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Mnangagwa must not mistake the millions of vendors for workers, as these are not employed and neither are they considered to be employers.
The economy has regressed and gone informal, and the number of people on the streets does not equate to the creation of jobs.
If Mnangagwa and the government are honest with each other, the government has failed to create jobs and instead has overseen the shrinkage of the employment market.
One of the electoral issues next year will be Zanu PF’s failure to create jobs and if Zanu PF was honest with itself it would be having sleepless nights because of this shortcoming.
But the government has shown that it is unaccountable to anyone and that is why senior officials can make such statements because they know there will be no blow back or they will swat it away if it comes.
The unemployment situation in the country is a sensitive state of affairs and there is need for government officials to be careful about what they say, lest they sound disdainful and out of touch.
If Mnangagwa is certain that the government has created so many jobs, then he should bring the evidence forth and put his money where his mouth is.
