“Operation Murambatsvina”: An Overview and Summary

This article was mailed out to our list, yesterday, 18 June 2005.

On 25 May, Africa Day, the Government of Zimbabwe began an operation labelled “Operation Murambatsvina”. While Government has translated this to mean “Operation Clean-up”, the more literal translation of “murambatsvina” is “getting rid of the filth”. The operation has continued throughout the month of June, and has affected virtually every town and rural business centre in the country. From Mount Darwin in the north, to Beitbridge in the south, Mutare in the East and Bulawayo in the west, no part of the nation has been spared the impact of what could be termed a slow-moving earthquake; every day the nation awakes to find more buildings have fallen around them, more families have been displaced. Families are often having their homes and possessions ruthlessly burnt to the ground, or are given a few hours to remove what they can save before bulldozers come in to demolish entire structures.

Destruction of the informal sector

Zimbabwe is a nation in dramatic economic decline. It is estimated that no more than 20% of the adult population is currently employed in the formal sector. Approximately 80% of adults in Zimbabwe therefore eke out an existence in the informal sector, either through subsistence farming or through informal employment in towns. By this means, they pay their rent, buy food for their children and send them to school. As many as 3-4 million Zimbabweans survive by informal employment, and their income is supporting another 4 million Zimbabweans at least. It is the unofficial backbone of the economy, and in a nation with no free health, housing or education, to remove the informal sector is to reduce Zimbabwe’s poorest to a state of abject poverty… read the full article here

Other recent Sokwanele articles on Operation Murambatsvina:

Clearing away the Trash” – Victoria Falls : 15 June 2005
“Operation Murambatsvina” Continues : 14 June 2005
The Ultimate Betrayal : 10 June 2005
Gideon Gono “… in sheep’s clothing” : The Role of the RBZ Governor in Murambatsvina : 8 June 2005
Operation Drive Out Trash : A Bulawayo Pastor’s view : 4 June 2005
Zimbabwe Burns : 2 June 2005

This entry was posted by Sokwanele2 on Sunday, June 19th, 2005 at 1:25 pm. You can follow any comments on this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.