Harare – April 7, 2025
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Honourable Edgar Moyo, has urged African governments and labour institutions to intensify efforts towards achieving full and productive employment, warning that underemployment and informality are undermining the continent’s economic potential and social cohesion.
Addressing delegates at the official opening of the ARLAC Tripartite Workshop in Harare on Monday, Minister Moyo, who also serves as the Vice Chairperson of the African Regional Labour Administration Centre (ARLAC), highlighted the urgent need for evidence-based strategies and collaborative solutions to address deep-rooted employment challenges affecting Africa’s youth, women and informal workers.
The five-day workshop, hosted under the theme “Strategies for Securing Full and Productive Employment and Decent Work”, brought together policymakers, labour experts, social partners and development institutions from across ARLAC member states to devise policies that promote decent work and inclusive growth.
“Decent work is not just a policy objective; it is a moral imperative that underpins the dignity of our people and the prosperity of our nations,” Minister Moyo said. “Our collective presence here shows a shared commitment to devise strategies that guarantee sustained socio-economic transformation.”
Quoting International Labour Organization (ILO) statistics, the minister said Africa continues to grapple with high levels of youth unemployment, underemployment, and informality, with over 80% of jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa found in the informal economy. He noted that while millions enter the labour market annually, only a fraction find formal jobs, resulting in an expanding pool of the “working poor”.
The minister also cited the informal economy’s role in Zimbabwe, where it accounts for around 60% of GDP and sustains more than 80% of the working population, including street vendors, artisanal miners, and smallholder farmers.
“These challenges have entrenched gender and economic inequalities, locking many into cycles of poverty and insecurity,” he said.
Hon. Moyo applauded initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), but stressed that its success hinges on policies that address the realities of the informal sector, which remains largely unregulated and unprotected.
He also outlined Zimbabwe’s ongoing efforts to formalise the labour market and reduce precarious employment, including the Decent Work Country Programme (2022–2026), the Zimbabwe National Employment Policy Framework (2025–2030), and a dedicated formalisation strategy aligned with National Development Strategy 1.
At the recent SADC Labour and Social Partners Meeting held in Victoria Falls, member states agreed to strengthen employment policies, link them to macroeconomic frameworks, and apply employment impact assessments to development projects—efforts Moyo said must be accelerated across the region.
“As ARLAC and its partners build capacity through training, research, and advisory services, we must also explore public-private partnerships and cross-border collaborations to improve labour administration and governance,” he added.
The workshop also serves as a precursor to the 113th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) set for 2025, where African nations are expected to contribute towards global discussions on combating informality and promoting decent work.
Minister Moyo concluded his remarks by urging delegates to engage actively and collaboratively during the workshop.
“Let us seize this opportunity to collaborate, innovate, and drive meaningful change,” he said. “As Kwame Nkrumah once said, ‘Revolutions are brought about by men who think as men of action and act as men of thought.’”
