Carte Blanche with Perry

One key characteristic of developing nations is that a large proportion of the population is comprised of the youth. The African Development Bank notes that, Africa has the fastest growing and most youthful population in the world. Over 40% percent are under the age of 15 and 20% are between the ages of 15 and 24, which is the accepted definition of youth. Zimbabwe is no exception to this trend, with a large proportion of the population being the youth age-group. Every year, the local tertiary institutions are churning out thousands of graduates, yet youth unemployment continues to be a major problem in the country. The imbalance between the numbers of graduates leaving Universities and Colleges and the numbers being actively absorbed in industry is unsustainably disproportionate. There has been increased pressure to create employment, especially for the youth, but the economy has remained hamstrung with various companies shutting down and overall capacity utilisation declining. Much...

Following the economic downturn caused by the global financial crisis, most economies have focused on increasing exports in an effort to reduce the widening trade deficits. This has been no easy fit however, with global demand weakening on the back of a less than impressive world economic outlook as indicated by forecasts from the Bretton Woods Institutions. In fact, the European Commission forecast a 3% decline in economic activity, with the 17 member Eurozone bloc`s economy expected to contract by 0, 4% this year and stagnate in 2013. Domestic demand in the Eurozone continues to be muted by the belt-tightening austerity measures currently being implemented in most of the Eurozone bloc, meant to maintain a balanced budget. However, since the onset of the Global Financial Crisis in the last quarter of 2007, China has continued to be the major driver of the global economy, with the world`s second largest economy growing at an average of 10 % a year for the past 3 decades. Noneth...