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Zim economy low
26/08/2004 16:26 - (SA)
Kodzevu Sithole
At the entrance to the National Employment Services Department in Harare people are playing cards or sitting around talking.
Daniel Mwamuka is taking a nap in the shade.
The 48-year-old Mwamuka looks tired and wan.
"I am hungry. I haven't eaten anything since this morning. My family has nothing to eat," he says, eager to tell his story.
Before he was retrenched by a milling firm, he managed to take care of his family. Since then, however, the situation has deteriorated rapidly.
"One of my children no longer goes to school. The school fees was increased this term from Z$3 000 to Z$50 000, too much for me," Mwamuka, who has eight children, says.
Thousands struggle to survive
Thousands of Zimbabweans share Mwamuka's dilemma and find it more and more difficult to survive as the country's economy disintegrates.
An Employment Services official says thousands of people still flock to these offices every day even though companies in Harare are no longer hiring.
"Life is hard out there. A lot of people were retrenched over the past few years, so they come here to register for any form of employment."
The Central Statistical Office (CSO) says unemployment now stands at 60%, but independent economic observers claim this is much too low.
Godfrey Kanyenze, chief economist of the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions, says a 1997 estimated claimed less than 18 000 out of 250 000 school leavers find work in the formal sector. He expects the situation is even worse now.
High rate of unemployment
Kanyenze says it is generally accepted that unemployment stands at 70%, "but it is probably even higher".
"The problem with the CSO figures is that they include only those who are actively searching for jobs and not those who are too tired to look for work or who have given up."
John Roberston, an independent economic analyst, agrees and explains that about 300< > 000 jobs have been lost in agricultural turmoil alone.
Many industries dependent on agriculture also had to shut down because of President Robert Mugabe's land reform programme. The cotton, tobacco and beef industries were particularly hard hit.
The political situation has also brought about the collapse of the tourism industry.
Robertson believes only about 1m people are employed in the formal sector and no new jobs are being created.
75% living below the poverty line
Nearly 75% of country's 12.5m people are living below the poverty line.
Yet, through innovation and enterprise, many urban Zimbabweans are surviving in the informal sector.
Hawkers all over Harare sell products such as plastic kitchenware, clothes and shoes from Asian countries, particularly China.
So prolific are these products that Harare residents have dubbed them "Zingh-Zong".
Struggling Zimbabweans prefer the lower prices of the Zingh-Zong and seem to care less about the quality and durability of these products.
David Moyo, a Harare businessman, says he imports Zingh-Zong products in bulk and sends young unemployed people to other towns and cities to sell these wares.
"In reality I have become an employer, at the age of nineteen!" he boasts.
Chinese products cutting into profits
Established shop owners complain that the Chinese products are cutting into their profits, but this does not bother government much.
A government official says Zimbabwean manufacturers are too used to being protected from competition. "Now they have to fight for a place in the market. If the Chinese goods are cheaper and sell better, the local manufacturers must adjust."
Apart from the Asian goods, enterprising Zimbabweans also sell fresh vegetables, clothes or cellphone accessories in stalls and on the streets.
Evelyn Ndira, a street vendor, says this is honourable work.
"For me it is better than walking the streets in search of male clients. I don't have to be ashamed of what I do and I keep body and soul together."
Observers believe it is time that the informal sector is officially recognised for its contribution to the national economy.
Nhlanhla Masuku, spokesperson for the National Economic Consultative Forum, says the amount of money generated in the informal sector is "too much to say these people are not working".
The Zimbabwean government is trying to resuscitate the industrial sector and a special fund has been created at the central bank to provide potential employers with low interest rate loans. However, little has come of these plans.
The economy has stagnated and for the unemployed like Mwamuka and his friends, the future looks bleak.
- Media24 Africa
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