Urban to rural migration increases in Zimbabwe

THERE is a reported increase of people migrating from urban to rural areas, following hardships prompted by de-industrialisation, which Bulawayo and the rest of the country is grappling with.

Urban dwellers are finding the going tough, due to unemployment and a lack of disposable income for daily upkeep.

In a recent interview, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) official, Nyasha Muchuchwa revealed that a 2011 labour report shows that there is a 3, 6 percent increase of urban to rural migration.

He noted that this shows the extent to which urban dwellers are feeling the pinch of economic hardships and end up relocating to the countryside.

However, Muchuchwa, said moving to rural areas presented its own challenges.

"Moving to rural areas leads to social unrest. There would be new fights for grazing land, land for crops and new fights for resources in rural areas,"he said.

Muchuchwa said de-industrialisation is a vicious cycle destroying the economic status of people.

"Due to company closures, there are many retrenched workers, people have less income, there is less money to buy. The demand for products become lesser and companies produce less to meet the necessary demand. This leads to a drop in capacity utilisation in industries and the cycle continues," said Muchuchwa.

He said it is high time the country pursued sound economic pro-poor policies.

"There is a need for strategies that can take the country forward considering we have the resources. We need to have policies that create employment and equal opportunities for both men and women without marginalising the young and employment policies that turn apprenticeships into entrepreneurships," said Muchuchwa.

He said there has to be policies that stimulate infrastructure development and prioritise value addition and create knowledge linkages.

"By knowledge linkages we mean innovative people who want to invent something or are eager to create something should not be arrested by or be inhibited but law," said Muchuchwa.

He added that: "We should go back to basics and prioritise both academic knowledge and practical skills. It does not mean that for one to be employed they should have been in intelligent in school," said Muchuchwa.

Bulawayo has been worst hit by de-industrialisation and several giant companies collapsed in the textile industry and these used to employ thousands of people. The firms include Merlin, David Whitehead Limited, Textile Mills, Belmore Manufacturers, Ascot Clothing and many others. Research has shown that nearly 100 firms have closed shop in Bulawayo since 2000.

Former big names like National Blankets, Security Mills, (both under judicial management), Cold Storage Company, National Railways of Zimbabwe, United Refin-eries, Dunlop-Zimbabwe and Archer Clothing have since down-sized leaving thousands jobless.