2023 and the Youth Demography in Zimbabwe

By Rawlings Magede

 When former Tanzanian President John “Pombe” Magufuli passed away earlier this year in March, Tanzanian pop artists led the country in the mourning process by composing songs that celebrated some of his achievements. What was shocking for outsiders like me was how Magufuli was popular among young people in Tanzania who seemed to have paid a blind eye to his authoritarian tendencies during his reign. His famous clarion call “Tuliwekewa mawazo” which means we have been labeled as poor was one of his strategies to rally young people and allow themselves to contribute to the recovery of the country. This tactic seemed to have paid dividends given that about two thirds of Tanzania’s 58 million population is under the age of 25.

The use of youths to spearhead political campaigns is not new. In Zimbabwe ahead of the 2018 elections, the late President, Robert Mugabe conducted countrywide Youth Interface meetings to garner election support. In all his faults, he was cognizant of the youth demography that was the game changer ahead of the elections and aware of the hurdles preventing youths from active participation. One of these issues is the nature of our politics. The current crops of youths have horrific stories to tell about the consequences of being actively involved in politics. The widely held view among the youths is that politics is a dangerous game. The vicissitudes of past electoral violence in 2002, 2005 and 2008 have constantly reminded youths of the dangers and risks that exist within the political arena. This has relegated them to being spectators despite the fact that they make up the majority of the population. While it is commendable that diverse stakeholders are rallying youths to vote, it remains to be seen if the majority of them will find time on the day of voting. In 2018, the majority of those who had been registered either failed to vote or gave the obvious excuse of not having confidence in our electoral democracy.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has picked from where his predecessor left. The only difference is that he is targeting youthful artists and socialites who use their considerable following on social media to drum up support for him ahead of the 2023 plebiscite. More recently, Dancehall artist, Enzo Ishall whom many believed was going through emotional stress and mental health issues was pictured with President Mnangagwa sons. So far reports indicate that President Mnangagwa’s sons have helped him set up a business venture. This latest development adds to an already considerable number of artists who have aligned themselves to the ruling party. In the past, Socialite Passion Java recruited Tyra Chikocho (Madam Boss), Felistas Murata (Mai Titi) and purchased for them top of the range vehicles. More recently, Bulawayo based artist, Sandra Ndebele joined the ruling party campaign team in that region under the banner of Young Women in Economic Development. She has already hit the ground running by recruiting women to get empowerment in exchange of supporting the ruling party.

What remains to be seen is whether this mass recruitment will deliver the much needed votes for ZANU PF and end domination by opposition party, MDC Alliance in urban centres. The 2021 Digital Report indicates that in January 2021, there were 1.30 million social media users in Zimbabwe in January 2021. These statistics highlight that social media alone is not enough to mobilize voters. The blurring reality is that very few people use social media in Zimbabwe. In other countries like South Africa for example, there are about 25 million social media users against a population of over 60 million. In that context, devoting more resources on social media campaigns is a positive step. In our context besides having a limited number of social media users, the high price of data remains a factor. Whilst Whatsapp is most used even by those in rural areas, the cost of data restricts all communication to text format instead of interactive videos that require more data.

ZANU PF’s recruitment drive is however not without its own faults. While Socialites like Java enjoy unfettered access to the presidium, the ordinary foot soldier hardly enjoys such benefits. The only thing that socialites bring is the “following” on social media which in some cases is not representative of the population dynamics in the country. The Diaspora claims a significant chunk of that following and given that we do not have the Diaspora vote in Zimbabwe, this can backfire. Closely linked to this is the fact that over the years, youths within the ruling party have complained over the lack of direct access to the Presidium. The intermediaries between them and the Presidium have been blamed for using youths to further their own parochial agendas while neglecting their concerns. What this has created is a sense of resentment for the Presidium on the basis that it does not engage this important constituency.

As the 2023 elections approach, it seems every party has gone into campaign mode. Rural areas that are still reeling from the effects of COVID 19 owing to issues of vaccine hesitancy have been invaded and have become the hunting ground once again. What remains to be seen is if the decision by the ruling party to recruit artists and socialites to drum up support will yield results. Only time will tell.

Rawlings Magede is a Development Practitioner who writes here in his personal capacity.