More than 83% live in poverty - Report

Published: 14 October 2019
MORE than 83 percent of residents here are poor, living on $500 per month, a recent study conducted by the local authority has revealed.

Making a presentation during the Bulawayo City Council (BCC)'s city master plan review meeting, consultant Job Jika Ndebele said an additional 20 percent of residents were surviving on less than $150 per month.

"The bulk of the population is poor. For example, our study revealed that about 83 percent of the population is living on a minimum of less than $500 and this figure is for last year," Ndebele said.

The living conditions might have worsened since last year owing to rising inflation which, according to the In- ternational Monetary Fund (IMF), stood at 300 percent for the month of August.

"Employment patterns have changed markedly over the period of the current master plan. In the 1930s formal employment was dominant as an employment category.

"It is now clear that even if Bulawayo experiences economic growth, informal employment will remain the major form of employment," Ndebele said.

Bulawayo residents have turned to the informal mar- ket to eke out a living due to high unemployment, which is estimated to be over 90 percent.

Once the country's industrial hub, most companies and factories have shut down and continue to do so while others relocate to the capital, forcing hundreds out of employment.

Just last week, the country's largest meat processor, the Cold Storage Company, shut down for "retooling and renovations".
- dailynews
Tags: Poverty,

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