News / National
Zimbabweans sent home close to 7billion rand last year
10 Apr 2012 at 12:16hrs | Views
Zimbabweans remitted between 5.1-6.8 billion rand ($700-850 million) from South Africa last year, PASSOP has said.
A new research titled , "Strangling the Lifeline â€" An analysis of remittance flows from South Africa to Zimbabwe", to be handed to the South African Reserve Bank and the Department of International Development and Cooperation on Wednesday, said 91% of Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa frequently send cash to their families.
"The report, based on interviews with 350 Zimbabwean migrants â€" the largest sample size on the issue in the last five years â€" also found that the average amount remitted by migrants was almost a third of their monthly income.
"Taking into account that an estimated 1.5 â€" 2 million Zimbabweans have emigrated to South Africa over the past decade, the report estimates that ZAR 5.1-6.8 billion ($700-850 million) were remitted in 2011, making remittances one of the most important sources of foreign currency inflows for Zimbabwe" PASSOP said.
But according to the report the bulk of the money finds its way to Zimbabwe through informal channels.
"These informal flows are unrecorded, and therefore the size of remittances flows has been hardly known and scarcely reported on in the past" it said.
"Perhaps the most surprising finding detailed in the report is that despite the proximity of Zimbabwe, and despite the large market that exists for remittances, the cost of sending remittances from South Africa to Zimbabwe is amongst the highest in the world. The average cost was found to be 12-15% of the amount remitted â€" the costs in comparable corridors, such as Mexico-US are much lower, at 3-5%. The implication of this is that the amount of money that actually reaches families in Zimbabwe, and hence the impact it has on poverty reduction and development, is much lower than it could be".
A new research titled , "Strangling the Lifeline â€" An analysis of remittance flows from South Africa to Zimbabwe", to be handed to the South African Reserve Bank and the Department of International Development and Cooperation on Wednesday, said 91% of Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa frequently send cash to their families.
"The report, based on interviews with 350 Zimbabwean migrants â€" the largest sample size on the issue in the last five years â€" also found that the average amount remitted by migrants was almost a third of their monthly income.
But according to the report the bulk of the money finds its way to Zimbabwe through informal channels.
"These informal flows are unrecorded, and therefore the size of remittances flows has been hardly known and scarcely reported on in the past" it said.
"Perhaps the most surprising finding detailed in the report is that despite the proximity of Zimbabwe, and despite the large market that exists for remittances, the cost of sending remittances from South Africa to Zimbabwe is amongst the highest in the world. The average cost was found to be 12-15% of the amount remitted â€" the costs in comparable corridors, such as Mexico-US are much lower, at 3-5%. The implication of this is that the amount of money that actually reaches families in Zimbabwe, and hence the impact it has on poverty reduction and development, is much lower than it could be".
Source - Byo24News
