Zim Influencers Magazine has come up with a list of the 100 most influential people under 40 in Zimbabwe.
Whilst the initiative is commendable it has divided opinion amongst Zimbabweans. The magazine has not revealed the criteria used to come up with the list and this raises questions on who deserves to be on said list and who does not.
Whilst the individuals on the list have praised Zim Influencers Magazine for coming up with the list, Zimbabweans on Twitter are far from being impressed. One criticism that has been raised against the Zim Influencers under 40 list is that it is not representative of Zimbabweans.
A section of Zimbabweans is saying it looks like a list of the most influential people from Harare. Whilst this is not true given that Sandra Ndebele, the late rapper Cal Vin, comedians Clive Chigubhu and Carl Joshua Ncube among others are from outside Zimbabwe’s capital, this raises a question on the criteria used as most of the people on the list are either Shona or from Harare.
Another obvious criticism raised against the list is that a number of individual’s names appear twice. For example, Chamu Chiwanza, Genius ‘Ginimbi’ Kadungure, and Jackie Ngarande appear twice meaning the list is less than the 100 people it claims to list.
This has resulted in people doubting the credibility of the list with one Twitter user writing:
The list is supposed to feature people under 40 but some individuals on it are over 40, for example, Carl Joshua Ncube and businessman Frank Buyanga.
It is commendable that Zim Influencers Magazine started a conversation on who the most influential people are in Zimbabwe but the criticisms outweigh the merit(s).
Below is the list of the 100 most influential Zimbabweans under 40 according to Zim Influencers Magazine:
