kissed good bye his newly wed bride, Faith.
Driven by the desire to provide for the family, Moses and his friend John Tembo, moved from one industrial area to the other in search of employment, without success.
In some instances, they found rusty padlocks on company gates – a sign that the gates have not been opened for too long – and many times came across insignia: “No Work, Hapana Basa, Akhula umsebenzi”.
The few occasions they were close to hitting their luck, the two would only get promises and that was it.
“I tried vending but was always on the wrong side of the law with the municipal police. They would take my wares and I would not have enough money to pay rent and buy food each month,” explained Moses.
With a pregnant wife to feed, rent to pay and an extended family to take care of, Moses decided to earn his living from where many shun, from the unorthodox.
He has joined many unemployed people who are making a living from picking up waste, which they clean and at times, recycle.
Each day they scavenge through the huge mixture of plastics, papers, metals, bottles, wood, rubber, tyres, tins, cans, wire, clothes, blankets and an assortment of rotting food.
“A friend of ours told us that he was earning a living through picking up refuse at Pomona dumpsite and I joined him.
“While there I pick up a lot of items like old computers, VCRs, DVD players, which are dumped by companies. I have a ready market where I sell the parts,” he said.
For Jessina Phiri (24) walking down Harare’s central business district holding a large sack filled with plastic bottles she picks from refuse bins is a “fashion statement”.
“Everyone looks at me just the way they look at a beautiful woman wearing nice clothes. I do not feel embarrassed to sift through refuse as this is how I am earning my money. I am like a magician, turning the refuse you throwaway into gold,” she boasted.
She says she sells the plastic bottles to companies that recycle them.
She is now able to buy food, pay rent, school fees for her child and buy uniforms.
“Life has never been the same since I ventured into picking bottles. I have found a way to empower myself and it has turned out to be great,” she said.
Phiri earns US$50 if pickings are good that week.
Patrick of Matapi flats in Mbare goes to Mbare Musika everyday and sifts through the vegetables thrown away by farmers.
“Sometimes rural farmers who supply farm produce to Mbare Musika wholesale throw away surplus leafy vegetables. Usually, not all vegetables are bought and they throw away good ones. We pick them up,” he said refusing to give details on whether they also resale the vegetables elsewhere.
But for Patrick, what he is doing is better that housebreaking and he is proud of it.
“I can feed my family, and pay school fees for my two sons. There is no employment out there and I believe the informal sector will sustain me until when industries open. That is if I have not opened my own vegetable shop in town. It is my dream to own one,” he said while inspecting a tomato he had picked up.
Dorothy is an HIV positive unemployed mother of three. Her children are aged between 12 and six months and she stays in Hatcliffe. Twice a week, she goes to Pomona dumpsite strapping her six month old daughter on her back.
“I sift through the refuse looking for different items I can resell. Some people throw away clothes, pots, novels, magazines that are still in good condition. I take them home, clean and resell them. This way, I am able to take care of all the needs of my family,” said Dorothy.
During the first days of this trade, Dorothy said she was embarrassed to tell people that this was her new way of living.
“I was ashamed. I felt people would not buy my wares because I picked them from marabu (dumpsites). But they have responded positively because the things, especially clothes are still in good condition. I sell the ladies blouses and men’s shirts I sometimes find for between US$3 to US$5. Some of my customers do not even believe that I pick them from a dumpsite,” she explained.
Unemployment is a reality that is affecting many youths in Zimbabwe, but people like Dorothy, John, Moses, Jessina and Patrick seem to have found a way out.
The precipitous decline in agriculture had a knock on effect in terms of the de-industrialisation experienced during the crisis period, principally because of Zimbabwe’s strong inter sectoral linkages between manufacturing and agriculture.
The capacity utilisation in industry had declined to 10 percent by 2008, resulting in massive unemployment and a critical lack of basic goods and services. This situation contributed to the increasing levels of poverty as the manufacturing sector could not generate jobs.
The Zimbabwe Millennium Development Goals Status Report 2010 says unemployment and underemployment remains a persistent challenge. The report was made possible through the active engagement and participation of Government ministries and departments, UN agencies, international organisations, partners from the private sector, local academic and research institutions and civil society organisations.
“According to the Poverty Assessment Study Survey (PASS) 11, the rate of unemployment in Zimbabwe was 63 percent in 2003.
“The survey also observed that structural unemployment that same year was higher amongst females (70 percent) than males (56 percent) because of the latter’s dominance in the agriculture sector and the informal economy. Rural areas had a higher structural unemployment rate (62 percent) than urban areas (35 percent),” the report states. It further explains that the Zimbabwe National Employment Framework’s (ZiNEPF) Report of December 2007 showed a direct correlation between economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction.
“Previous policy focusing on macro economic stabilisation emphasised fiscal and inflation indicators, but overlooked employment creation and poverty reduction,” the report reveals.
The report warns that Zimbabwe is unlikely to meet the MDG 1 target on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. However, although the status trends of MDG 1 have not been positive, the country can halt and reverse the increasing levels of poverty, hunger and malnutrition by, inter alia, supporting the land reform policy.
Government can also pursue economic transformation by deepening the economic reforms in the medium and long term through pro-poor and inclusive growth, the report suggests. The Medium Term Plan 2010-2015 provides a good policy framework for this, according to the report.
The MDG status report also suggests that Government should strengthen the social protection system and promote job creation and decent jobs for all strategic policy thrust for mainstreaming employment.
The Government of Zimbabwe has signed a number of international commitments to provide decent and full employment for youths and women.
These include the Millennium Declaration, the UN Resolution on Promoting Youth, the Ouagadougou Declaration of the heads of State and Government of Africa, the Resolution of the 93rd International Labour Conference concerning youth employment, Resolutions of the Tripartite Meeting on Youth Employment and the Conclusions of Southern Africa Sub-Regional Conference on Youth Employment.
But the full implementation and effectiveness of the commitments is yet to be seen as the economy improves. Scavenging in dumpsites is not peculiar to Zimbabwe but is visible in many African countries.
A 2010 research entitled “An overview of the management practices at solid waste disposal sites in Africa” by Remigios Mangizvo of the Zimbabwe Open University’s Geography and Environment studies says thousands of poverty stricken Africans make a living through salvaging recoverable materials from waste sites.
“Daily, women, the elderly and children spend long hours at the open solid waste dumps sifting through the rubbish for valuable items.
“Wilsons, Velis and Cheeseman (2005) say these people use their bare hands and wear no protective clothing. This lack of protective clothing and equipment puts them in direct contact with hazardous waste such as broken glass, human and animal faecal matter, paper that may have become saturated with toxic matter, as well as containers with residues of chemicals, pesticides and solvents.
“They are also exposed to needles, bandages and other refuse from hospitals exposing them to diseases such as HIV and Aids, hepatitis (Oyaro 2003). This state of affairs was observed at Dondora dumpsite in Nairobi, Kenya. Informal waste pickers are at high risk as basic principals of occupational health and safety are ignored.
“As such, scavenging in open dumpsites is regarded one of the most detrimental activities to health. Some people come to the dumps looking for food. They are not spared from inhalation of bio-aerosols, and of smoke and fumes produced by open burning of waste which can also cause health problems. Respiratory and dermatological problems, eye infections and low life expectancy are common amongst these people,” the report warns.
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