Tanzania’s youth: A demographic blessing or time bomb?

Dar es Salaam. A vibrant discussion erupted at the 15th Mwalimu Nyerere Intellectual Festival held on May 30, 2024, at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM).

The theme “The Youth and the Quest for Unity and Africa’s Second Liberation” resonated deeply as scholars, policymakers, and youth advocates dissected the challenges hindering Tanzania’s young population.

Tanzania boasts a youthful population, with 77 percent under 35 and 34.7 percent aged 15–35 (2022 Population and Housing Census).

This demographic strength, however, faces marginalisation due to inadequate education systems, discrimination and rigid social structures.

Read: Tanzania's struggle with youth employment: A critical look

The scholars, policymakers and youth advocates delved deep into the systemic issues that have stifled the potential of African youth, rendering them powerless in the socio-economic and political arenas.

Dr John Kalage, executive director of HakiElimu, highlighted the missed opportunity. He compared the current situation to the successful liberation struggles led by young Africans like Julius Nyerere.

“Tanzania, like many African countries,” he stated, “has failed to prepare for this youth bulge.

Dr Kalage’s words echoed a prophetic warning from the late Prime Minister Edward Lowassa in 2014, who described the burgeoning number of unemployed youth as a “time bomb.” Mr Lowassa had urged the government to devise robust plans to increase youth employment, particularly through education.

“The way a nation invests in and manages the education of its youth reflects its intentions and views on development,” Dr Kalage emphasised.

The Tanzanian education reforms encapsulated in the 2023 Education and Training Policy aim to prepare youth for significant changes in the economy, technology, and culture.

He noted that experience shows that Tanzania has succeeded in having good systems, policies, and guidelines in various areas but has been lagging in effectively implementing them, including in the education sector.

“Having good policies is not enough; their implementation must reflect the genuine intentions of those policies.”

Assistant Lecturer from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at UDSM, Mr Sabatho Nyamsenda, shed light on another dimension of youth marginalisation: the lack of political authority and economic power.

“Today’s youths are caught in an age-based apartheid where the few elders monopolise state power and economic strength, deciding the fate of the majority,” Mr Nyamsenda said.

He likened this to the racial discrimination of the colonial era, pointing out that the current socio-economic system has created rigid class divisions, leaving youths at the bottom rung.

“In the past, under socialist policies, education was a ladder for youths from poor families to ascend the social hierarchy. Now, that ladder has been removed.”

The result is a generation of educated but underemployed or unemployed youths, often forced to revert to low-paying jobs that their education was supposed to elevate them from.

He further noted that the system that discriminates against youths was a capitalist system that now takes the form of a free market.

The REPOA (2019) report underscores this bleak scenario, noting that out of 1,000,000 youths entering the labour market each year, only 50,000 to 60,000 secure formal sector jobs.

The majority are pushed into self-employment and the informal sector, where job security and benefits are scarce.

The national chairperson of the ACT-Wazalendo youth wing, Mr Abdul Nondo, highlighted the struggles faced by youths in the agricultural sector, which employs 65 percent of the workforce.

“Youth participation in agriculture is still unsatisfactory due to difficulties in accessing land, education systems, capital, and markets,” he explained.

He called for a comprehensive assessment of youth participation in the economic sector, advocating for improved education systems, capital empowerment, land ownership rights, and policies that support youth entrepreneurship and employment.

The sentiments of disillusionment were further echoed by Professor of Pan-African Studies, Prof Rwekaza Mukandala.

“Young people face challenges of unrealized expectations and desperation due to the unending lack of basic human rights,” Prof Mukandala asserted, underscoring the critical need for such debates to catalyse change.

As the festival progressed on day one, it became clear that the root of the problem lied in a system that continues to marginalise the youth. The capitalist framework, which prioritises market forces over social equity, has entrenched economic disparities, making it difficult for young people to break free from the cycle of poverty.

“With the current systems, even when youths manage to gain power, they cannot make systemic changes because they have no real authority within the existing structures,” Mr Nyamsenda remarked.

The festival called for actionable solutions, emphasising the need for a systemic overhaul.

Participants advocated for a transformative approach to education that goes beyond rote learning to foster critical thinking, creativity, and practical skills.

They also stressed the importance of creating an enabling environment for youth entrepreneurship and employment through supportive policies and access to capital.