Chronicle Editor
Stephen Mpofu, Perspective
WERE the sky the limit financially and economically for the global south, and not the height to which poorer nations raise begging bowls as is the case today, leaders from developing countries in Africa, for instance, would rub their hands in glee when the topic on improving the world order came up for debate in the United Nations General Assembly chamber with our own leaders cracking smiles in the process.
But as things stand today – and are likely to do so for many more years to come unless our Creator intervenes – the North which for many, many years of colonialism underdeveloped us, Africans, in the South will continue to exercise remote imperialism by frowning, or even spitting, at requests for financial aid by developing nations to improve their economic performances through job creation and skills training.
Which impels poorer nations, like us Zimbabweans and other Africans in the south of the global village, to not perpetually sit on our laurels instead of rising to challenges of unemployment and, with that, perpetual poverty for some with do-it-for-yourselves-initiatives such as the Graduate Employment Creation and Development Programme announced earlier this week by the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education Innovation Science and Technology Development, Professor Amon Murwira, in a speech read on his behalf by Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Prof Fanuel Tagwira during the 32nd Gweru Polytechnic graduation and prize-giving ceremony on Friday last week.
Prof Murwira said that under the programme graduates will be equipped with appropriate entrepreneurial aptitudes and competencies to become job creators.
At present, students enroll at tertiary institutions for training and then scout for jobs that are scarce, what with illegal Western economic sanctions imposed on this country by imperialists in a bid to remove the Zanu-PF government representing the armed revolution that put paid to the racist colonial Rhodesian regime in 1980.
By creating employment for themselves and other job seekers, Tertiary and other educational graduates will no longer flock to foreign countries in search of greener pastures and where many work today as mere labourers under virtual slave conditions and with some exposed to dangerous criminal activities that the Zimbabweans risk importing back home even at risk of arrest by police.
The self-job creation initiative for young Zimbabweans announced by Prof Murwira is not an entirely new thing as in colonial Rhodesia mission schools, and probably others, saw students who took part in carpentry or brick laying, or gardening schemes creating jobs for themselves in those areas upon graduating from standard six, or upper primary, for instance.
The information above on job creation is not hearsay by this pen but something practical and experienced firsthand by this communicologist’s at Lutheran Church boarding schools days in Mberengwa district in the 50’s and 60’s.
The new self-job creation programme fits in perfectly with the government’s philosophy: “A COUNTRY IS BUILT BY ITS OWNERS and LEAVING NO ONE AND NO PLACE BEHIND.”
It therefore behooves on parents and other good-will-wishers Zimbabwean residents to encourage and support students to embark on the bold new self-employment creation initiative by providing them with seed money, for instance, to take our beautiful motherland and our nation to brave new futures with peace and stability as fillips for greater achievements.
That the future lies squarely in and on Zimbabweans’ hands and shoulders, as it does on the hands of other underdeveloped nations needs no further elaboration.
Today Zimbabweans boast one of Africa’s literacy ratings on account of the country’s high-quality education and that is all very well.
But impressive academic certificates decorating living room walls without in anyway also serving food on the dinner table for families is nothing but a damp squib and the new tertiary graduate programme announced by Prof Murwira must see Zimbabweans from various aspects of business, in particular, putting their hands together in support of the new job revolution which accords with the armed revolution that freed rightful owners of this country from colonialism/virtual slavery by imperialists fleeing poor living conditions in their native countries beyond many waters.
So we, poorer nations should brave any new hurdles standing in our way to self-independence economically and financially or sit back mulling over imperialist machinations to our very doom as free and independent states.
Online Reporter