Zimbabwe’s graduates are unlikely to heed the ban on protests
ZIMBABWE is in the throes of a popular revolt. Since May 2016 hundreds of activists — informal traders, unemployed young people and others — have taken to the capital’s streets to protest against President Robert Mugabe’s government, which responded on Friday, September 2 by banning all demonstrations in the capital, Harare. The government seems unable to revive the country’s flatlining economy. Activists’ frustrations stem from the government’s failure to meet people’s basic economic expectations: a labour market that provides jobs; a public workforce that is paid on time; a trustworthy, stable currency; and an affordable price regime. Two of the protesting groups involved after the initial #ThisFlag demonstrations were the Zimbabwe National Students Union and the Zimbabwe Coalition of Unemployed Graduates. There is a long history of student activism in Zimbabwe, but this is the first time that young people who have completed their university education have mobilised as graduates. ...
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