CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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Zimbabwe |
SOCIAL CONDITIONS
Many of Zimbabwe’s skilled workers are leaving the country,
looking for
better prospects elsewhere.
A disturbing situation for a country which
is lurching
from one crisis to another
Zimbabwe’s tourist promotional material describes the country as «Africa’s Paradise». For the international traveller at whom the hype is aimed, this is to some extent true. Beautiful weather, friendly people and some of the world’s most breathtaking scenery makes Zimbabwe a very attractive tourist destination. Add to this the weakness of the Zimbabwe dollar and you get «paradise» on the cheap.
For most native Zimbabweans the picture is somewhat different. The country’s worsening economic conditions coupled with the continuing political violence which started during the run-up to the June parliamentary elections, is forcing many Zimbabweans to look for «paradise» elsewhere.
And while it was primarily Whites who chose the option to leave even before the economy started its seemingly inexorable decline in the 1990s, more young Blacks are also leaving. With unemployment at a record 65% and business institutions closing down or reducing output, the unskilled workforce is the hardest hit because they are the first to be made redundant.
The tragedy is, that it is people the country can ill afford to lose, i.e. the skilled, who are leaving in ever-increasing numbers for «greener pastures» in other parts of Africa or elsewhere. In most cases, those who leave are young people who have cost the country a lot of money to train.
Health sectorThe health sector is one of the hardest hit with nurses and doctors leaving in droves. The favourite destination for nurses seems to be the United Kingdom. «Zimbabwean nurses are in demand in Britain,» says a British High Commission spokesperson. «They are well trained and adapt quickly to British standards.» The official cannot, however, give figures as the High Commission only issues visas. Work permits are the responsibility of the British Department of Education and Employment.
The departure of so many nurses has led to such a crisis that a few years ago, the government considered recruiting nurses from Tanzania. While the lure of better remuneration is a major factor, there are other reasons as well.
According to Dr. Reginald Matchaba-Hove, a lecture in Occupational Health at the University of Zimbabwe School of Medicine, job satisfaction and an opportunity to further their education are some of the reasons junior nurses leave.
One nurse who is seriously considering moving to the UK, said: «The shortage of drugs and equipment in the hospitals is terrible. It’s heartbreaking to watch a patient die from something that can be treated, just because there are no drugs.»
This was echoed by Professor Norman Nyazema, Director of the Post Graduate Programme. He says: «Hospitals are fast becoming places where you go to die. There are no drugs, no food and very soon you will have to bring your own linen from home». People also leave because they are accepted and acknowledged elsewhere, which is not the case in Zimbabwe. «They get a raw deal from the government.»
At the moment, less than two thousand medical practitioners are registered with the Zimbabwe Health Professions Council, «This does not necessarily mean all of them are practising in the country,» said a spokesperson for the Council. The shortage has resulted in the government getting doctors from other countries, notably Cuba.
Other countries, especially Botswana, Namibia and South Africa have benefited from this exodus. «A lot of doctors went to South Africa but it’s not so easy for them to go there anymore,» said Matchaba-Hove, citing an agreement between the South African and Zimbabwean governments aimed at trying to stem the trek. Australia and Canada have also become preferred destinations for many Zimbabweans, with both countries represented by private «migration experts» who have set up offices in Zimbabwe.
They advertise their services regularly in the Media. Some of them have years of experience in getting South African emigrant families resettled. An Australian High Commission official admitted there has been an increase in visa applications to his country including work enquiries. For Australia, work permits are processed in Pretoria.
A permanent «goodbye»
While some people leave temporarily just to make some money for the folks back home and maybe to buy a home or a car or to set themselves up in business, for others the move is permanent. Nurse Angela Moyo, her accountant husband Nicholas and their two young children are headed for San Francisco, USA, and have no plans to come back. «It’s getting very difficult here, we cannot even think of buying a house because of the high interest rates, we also have to think of our children. The way things are at the moment there is just no future,» she says.
The worldwide shortage of information technology (IT) workers which has seen industrialised countries recruiting staff from developing countries, has resulted in many Zimbabwean IT personnel leaving the country. «We have always had people leaving the country but not at this rate,» says Geoff Fairall, Executive Director of the Computer Society of Zimbabwe.
Fairall says about two hundred, mostly young people in computer related jobs, have left the country over the past two months. «These include our own members who resign and ask for a reference to join computer societies in another country, or those wanting to be tested for the International Computer Driver’s Licence.» The licence is fast becoming a basic requirement by employers for people using their computers.
While no reports of companies closing down because of a shortage of manpower have been received by the Society yet, Fairall believes the industry will feel it later.
«In the short term we will have inexperienced people taking over the positions left vacant by those who have left, however, if the exodus continues we might have to bring in expatriates.» He adds: «It’s also possible to have systems controlled remotely from South Africa, but in both cases you have to pay in scarce foreign currency.» The irony of the IT industry is, that in some cases people get their jobs on the Internet where «headhunters» advertise.
Uncertainties...
Other skilled people and professionals are also joining the exodus for various reasons, but economic and political uncertainties are major reasons. An employment agency executive who speaks on condition of anonymity, says: «There are many professionals going away — accountants, artisans, senior managers; and because mines are closing down, you also get skilled people from that sector being forced to leave.»
The public relations officer of the Zimbabwe Institute of Management, Joy Mutema, says more attractive packages are luring experienced managers elsewhere. «Even in the absence of hard data, we know that people are leaving and this is one of the factors that has affected our economy».
While some use the proper channels and regularise their residence in their chosen destinations, there are thousands who stay illegally, doing menial jobs and risking deportation despite their being highly qualified. «John» is a qualified high school teacher who washed dishes and did other odd jobs in London for three years.
He says: «I earned more than I could ever dream of making here. I sent enough money back home to help my children through school. And now? I’ve just got back to Zimbabwe and want to look around, but from what I see, I could be returning to England or looking for some other place.» Does he ever get homesick? «Of course I do, but what is home if you cannot feed and clothe yourself and don’t have a future?»
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