“The tragedy is not that young people drink. The tragedy is that many have been persuaded that drinking is the definition of living.”
Walk through the streets of Harare on a Friday evening and the signs are everywhere.
Restaurants advertise “happy hours,” social media feeds overflow with pictures of young people holding bottles and glasses high above their heads, and popular music often portrays alcohol as the reward for success and the gateway to enjoyment.
For many young Zimbabweans, alcohol has become more than a beverage. It has become a badge of belonging.
Yet behind the laughter, the photographs, and the carefully crafted online images lies a question that deserves national attention: What is the long-term cost of a culture that celebrates intoxication more than education, self-development and enterprise? Zimbabwe stands at a critical moment in its history.
The nation is blessed with energetic young people, abundant natural resources, and endless opportunities for innovation.
Across the country, young minds are capable of transforming local industries, creating businesses, solving community challenges, and contributing to economic growth.
However, a growing obsession with alcohol threatens to divert many of these ambitions before they can be realised.
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In schools, colleges and universities, educators increasingly speak of talented students whose academic journeys are interrupted by destructive social habits.
Bright young people who once dreamed of becoming engineers, teachers, accountants, scientists and entrepreneurs find themselves distracted by lifestyles that offer temporary excitement, but little lasting value.
A veteran teacher in Harare recently observed: “Many young people are not failing because they lack ability. They are failing because they are being sold the wrong definition of success.”
That observation cuts to the heart of the problem. Success is increasingly being portrayed not through achievement, knowledge, innovation or service to the community, but through images of expensive drinks, exclusive parties and endless weekends of celebration.
The danger is that these images create an illusion. They present consumption as achievement.
Yet no nation has ever built prosperity by consuming more than it creates. Consider the young graduate who spends US$30 every weekend on alcohol-related entertainment.
Over 12 months, that amount could exceed US$1 500. Such money could finance a small poultry project, purchase equipment for a start-up venture, pay for professional certification courses, or provide capital for a small trading business. The issue is not merely financial. It is also about time.
Every hour spent recovering from excessive drinking is an hour not spent learning a skill, reading a book, building a business, mentoring others or pursuing personal growth.
History teaches us that societies advance when they invest in knowledge and discipline. Ancient African communities understood this principle well. Among the Shona people, elders often emphasised the importance of foresight and responsibility.
The proverb “Mwana asingachemi anofira mumbereko” teaches that opportunities and needs must be recognised and addressed before it is too late. Likewise, another proverb, “Kandiro kanoenda kunobva kamwe,” reminds us that what we contribute today often returns to us tomorrow.
A generation that invests in education and innovation creates future prosperity. A generation that invests primarily in self-indulgence inherits the consequences of those choices. The effects are visible beyond educational institutions.
Many families struggle to understand why young people with immense potential remain unable to transform ideas into lasting ventures.
In some cases, resources intended for business development, savings or further education gradually disappear into lifestyles centred on alcohol consumption.
Communities feel the impact as well. Family tensions, road accidents, poor decision-making and health complications linked to excessive drinking continue to impose social and economic costs that rarely appear in official statistics.
Meanwhile, social media continues to amplify the problem. Rarely does anyone post photographs of debt, regret, missed opportunities or damaged relationships.
Instead, platforms are filled with carefully selected moments designed to portray alcohol consumption as glamorous and desirable.
Young people scrolling through these images may conclude that drinking is not simply accepted — it is expected. But ancient wisdom tells a different story.
More than 2 000 years ago, Chinese philosopher Confucius taught that the strength of a society depends on the character of its people.
Similarly, Aristotle argued that excellence results from repeated habits rather than occasional actions.
The lesson remains relevant today. A nation’s future is shaped by what its young people repeatedly choose to do.
If the dominant culture encourages learning, innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship, the nation benefits.
If the dominant culture encourages escapism and excess, the nation pays the price. Zimbabwe’s future industries, technologies, schools, farms, and businesses will not be built in nightclubs.
They will be built in classrooms, workshops, laboratories, offices, libraries, factories, and communities where young people are committed to creating value.
This is not a call for prohibition. It is a call for perspective. The challenge before Zimbabwe is to redefine what deserves admiration.
Let us celebrate the student who masters a difficult subject. Let us applaud the young entrepreneur who starts a business with limited resources.
Let us recognise the innovator who turns local materials into products that create value. Let us honour those who use their talents to uplift their communities.
For generations, nations have risen when their youth embraced purpose over pleasure and vision over distraction.
The question facing Zimbabwe today is simple: Will we continue raising glasses, or will we begin raising a generation capable of building the future it deserves?
*Chengeta Justice Jr is an academic writer, personal development enthusiast, teacher by profession. He can be contacted on +263786966075 or [email protected]
These weekly articles are coordinated by Lovemore Kadenge, an independent consultant, managing consultant of Zawale Consultants (Private) Limited, past president of the Zimbabwe Economics Society and past president of the Chartered Governance & Accountancy Institute in Zimbabwe. Email [email protected] or Mobile No 263 772 382 852
