…as coronavirus disrupts daily hustles
BERNARD MPOFU
Mercy Rusika ( 6 5 ) , p i c t u r e d above sells ice blocks for a living.
The teeming numbers of people in Zimbabwe’s oldest township, Mbare, which is home to an estimated 200,000 people has for years provided a market for the elderly widow.
That is not the case anymore after President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced a 21-day national lockdown to minimise the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Business has closed and for Zimbabwe which has an estimated unemployment rate of 90%, the lives of many people in the informal sector have been disrupted.
The formal sector has not been spared either—some companies are considering scaling down operations as the economy catches a cold while experts say some may fold.
The 65-year granny ekes a living in the highly competitive environment and takes care of her 23-year old terminally-ill daughter who has two minors aged 10 and 12.
“I have nowhere to sell my wares because of the lockdown,” said Rusika who has been living in the densely populated suburb since 1982 as Zimbabwe endured its first week of the lockdown.
“My daughter is very sick and my son-in-law has a mental health condition. I do not know how I will take care of my grandchildren who both look up to me for a living.”
Rusika plight typifies that of thousands of Zimbabweans who are living on hand to mouth as the economy wobbles.
As the pandemic continues to spread across the continent, fears are that densely populated suburbs like Mbare, where families of up to 8 share a single room at the run-down flats, could be affected by the virus.
With Zimbabwe health care system in limbo, a major outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic could be a big blow for authorities.
The respiratory ailment which has claimed over 80,000 lives across the globe has paralysed the global economy.
The International Monetary Fund says the virus will slow global economic growth this year. According to the United Nations Africa will plunge into an economic crisis that will result in half of the jobs being lost.
Barely two years ago was Zimbabwe struggling with its worst outbreak of cholera in a decade which killed at least 28 people, prompting authorities to declare an emergency and ban public gatherings.
Beatrice Savadye, founder and director of a local relief aid organisation which currently has a programme targeting vulnerable groups across the country says the lockdown which was triggered by the outbreak of coronavirus, which is also known as Covid-19 has left many families in the cold.
“When the lockdown started, there were some families that were not able to do panic buying and there are families that are dependent on day-to-day activities to be able to feed their families.
Those are the community members that we are helping,” Savadye said. “Some of the challenges that we have found here in Mbare are to do with water supplies.
We were doing our food distribution and we saw more than 20 people at a borehole and there is no social distancing.
The people brought up the gendered nature of this crisis where one gentleman told us that most people that are coming to the borehole are women and girls.
There is a high risk of contracting the pandemic.” She said the breakdown of social amenities such as piped water has also made social distancing difficult in densely populated areas.
Rusika has resigned to her fate saying “only God can help her”.
In the city centre, the streets are deserted as municipal police and security forces routinely carry out patrols to enforce the lockdown.
Mbare which is about 5km from the central business district has become a refuge for the homeless who are having running battles with authorities.
As the pandemic affects Zimbabwe’s socio-economic sphere, the government has been easing some of the measures imposed to minimise the spread of the virus.
In its Tuesday meeting, cabinet announced that it had set up relief shelters for the homeless.
A few days before cabinet, the government allowed money transfer agencies to carry out their business three times a week.
“Cabinet was apprised by the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Chairman of the Food and Waste Sustainability Sub Committee that three places of safety for the vulnerable and homeless children and families had been established, namely Mt Hampden, Jamaica Inn and Beatrice Rehabilitation Centre,” reads the 10th Cabinet meeting Decisions Matrix. “Furthermore, the government was exploring options of reopening some hotels as isolation centres.
In addition, where necessary, Covid-19 affected persons are being supported through the provision of basic necessities.”
Official figures availed by the Health ministry shows that Zimbabwe has to date tested 392 cases of coronavirus.
Out of this 11 have tested positive and two deaths related to the pandemic have been recorded.
