eBusiness Weekly
HARARE – Zimbabwe needs to diversify and modernise its economy to derive maximum benefit for the majority of the country’s population which is currently within the working-age range, a study has revealed.
According to the report, titled, Harnessing the Demographic Dividend in Zimbabwe launched Tuesday, 55 percent of the country’s population of over 14 million is between 15 to 64 age range, which is described as the working-age population.
And to derive benefits from the age group, the study, financed by the United Nations Population Fund and launched by Finance and Economic Planning Minster, Professor Mthuli Ncube, said job creation would enable the country to achieve its development goals through maximum utilisation of its working age group, which will dwindle in years to come.
The study sought to assess the country’s prospects for harnessing the demographic dividend and identifying options for maximising the benefits.
The democratic dividend refers to the temporary economic benefit that can arise from the significant increase in the ratio of working age adults relative to young dependents that result from fertility decline.
“A modern and diversified economy is required to create jobs for young people who will in turn generate more labour income to contribute towards sustainable development,” noted the study.
It was established that young people in the country, while within the working age group, remained dependent until they reached the age of 30 due to lack of opportunities.
Ncube said the country entered the phase where it could derive maximum benefits from its population dynamics in 2004.
The phase peaked in 2012 and will last until 2060.
“Zimbabwe is currently within the phase where the impact of the demographic dividend on economic growth is still positive but this phase is waning,” he said.
“The country is presently saddled with an extreme large dependency burden from children and young people, both of which need to be financed by sources other than labour income generated from within the country.”
According to the study, the country needed to work on four policy imperatives to take full advantage of its population dynamics which are reducing fertility through use of family planning methods, prioritising economic reforms that ensure faster generation of jobs for young people, integration of population dynamics into national development plans as well as reinforcing investments in health and education.
Ncube said a collaborative approach between government and development partners was critical to address early child birth through keeping young people in schools and colleges, creating jobs to keep them occupied, as well as adoption of methods that delay first birth within marriage.
United Nations Resident Coordinator, Bishow Parajuli said targeting young people through multi-faceted initiatives to empower them would benefit the economy.
“Investing in young people is one of the smartest investments that Zimbabwe can ever make,” he said. – New Ziana
