On a busy Monday morning in central Harare, dozens of young people lined a narrow corridor inside Boka Islip House on the seventh floor outside room 702. All of them were clutching copies of their identification documents and job applications. They were all chasing the same promise: employment in retail shops as merchandisers and shop assistants.
But what appeared to be a rare opportunity in a country battling high youth unemployment soon revealed troubling signs of a coordinated scheme exploiting job seekers. This journalist went undercover to investigate and uncovered stories of deceit and exploitation at an industrial scale. It promised vacancies for shop merchandisers and retail assistants in several Harare supermarkets.
Applicants were instructed to submit their names, address and contact details before being invited for interviews. Within minutes of expressing interest, this reporter received a message confirming an interview appointment at Boka Islip House, a commercial building located in Harare’s central business district. The instructions were brief: bring identification documents and arrive by 8.30am.
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On arrival at the seventh floor, the reporter found a long queue of mostly young men and women, many of whom appeared to be recent school leavers or graduates. Some had travelled from surrounding high-density suburbs, while others said they came from as far as Chitungwiza and Norton. Despite the steady movement of applicants into interview rooms, the queue barely shortened. During the hour the reporter observed the scene, close to 30 individuals were interviewed, while others continued to trickle in.
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