According to the criminal, illegitimate and failing ZANU PF regime, Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate is just nineteen percent. That is what they want us to believe. They say this with a straight face, using their partisan, politicized and incompetent statistics agency, ZIMSTAT, to push this propaganda. But on the ground, we see something very different. We see young people without jobs. We see graduates selling tomatoes. We see whole towns and cities with no industries working. We see people struggling to survive.

The truth is, unemployment is much higher than nineteen percent. Everyone knows that. Zimbabwe is a country where most people hustle every day just to eat. They are not employed. They are surviving. But ZANU PF still wants to feed the people lies. They want the hungry and jobless to believe that all is well. Why? So that these same desperate people might be tricked into voting for them again.

But here is the thing: if ZANU PF truly believed that unemployment was low, they would not need to lie. They would let people see and feel it for themselves. They would let people speak freely. But instead, they silence those who speak the truth. They jail critics. They arrest journalists. They use propaganda to try and cover their crimes. That is not what a confident government does. That is what a failing one does.

ZANU PF has been in power since 1980. In that time, they have turned Zimbabwe from a promising country into a broken one. They have looted natural resources, stolen public funds, and destroyed state institutions. Their obsession with power has turned Zimbabwe into a land of poverty and fear. They do not care about jobs, development, or the youth. They only care about staying in power and feeding their own pockets.

Even the idea of national service, which ZANU PF now talks about, is laughable. If there is really just nineteen percent unemployment, where will they get the youths for this service? In reality, they know that young people are jobless. That is why they are trying to use them for forced programs instead of creating real jobs. It’s not about patriotism — it’s about control.

The real cause of unemployment in Zimbabwe is ZANU PF itself. The regime has destroyed confidence, crushed industries, and chased away investors. It has no respect for property rights, human rights, or the rule of law. Without these, no economy can grow. No jobs can be created. And no young person can plan for their future.

If ZANU PF truly cared about the people, they would step aside. They would allow a new, vibrant, honest leadership to take over. The opposition has ideas. The opposition has energy. The opposition understands the pain of the people. With secure property rights, respect for the constitution, and real accountability, jobs can be created. Zimbabwe can rise again.

But ZANU PF does not want that. They want a one-party state — a collapsed, paralyzed shell where they rule over suffering people in silence. They want to crush hope so that no one dares to dream of a better life. That is why they twist numbers, bribe the media, and use ZIMSTAT as a tool of lies.

The people of Zimbabwe do not need numbers. They need jobs. They need food. They need dignity. Until then, no amount of fake statistics will hide the truth. The streets are speaking. The youth are angry. And one day soon, the truth will be too loud to silence.

Let ZANU PF chew on this: if 81 percent of Zimbabweans are employed, why is the country starving? Why is the youth still jobless? Why is everyone still hustling?

Food for thought.