Challenges faced by Social Workers in secondary setting such as hospital/ medical setting in Zimbabwe by Nothokozo

In Zimbabwe, Medical social work was introduced as a response to public health issues of disease prevention and control (Chitereka, 2012) Medical social workers are also employed in government hospitals and local authority hospitals such as Harare and Bindura Central Hospitals, coordination with the Department of Social Development\Welfare Services through the Case Management System. Social Workers in Zimbabwe working at secondary settings like hospitals have roles such as rehabilitation, counselling, conduction home visits among others. Medical social work is a sub discipline of social work that is aligned to public health, involves assessment, diagnosis and provision of social work interventions to improve the psychosocial functioning of patients and their families (Harris, 2006). Medical social work helps patients overcome the burden of treatment for both acute and chronic ailments. In light of all these, medico social workers face a plethora of challenges in the health sector, therefore this paper serves to analyze the challenges faced by social workers in secondary settings like hospitals considering lack of team work by working with interdisciplinary teams, resource constraints, high workload and case overload, challenging clients, long working hours to mention but a few. The paper is also going to proffer recommendations on how best can these challenges faced by social workers in secondary settings like hospitals be address for example through employment of more social workers in hospitals, the government of Zimbabwe to finance the health sector with 15% effectively as per the Abuja Declaration.

Medical Social Work as, a process which serves to assist the case worker in diagnosis and treatment of patient through study of the patient in his social situation and by understanding the patient and his environment(Cobat , 2010). Medical Social Work is the application of social work knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to the field of health and medicine (Thackeray, Farley and Skidmore, 1994). A Social worker is a person that is professionally trained and registered by the regulatory board of Council of Social Workers statutory Instrument 179 of 2005. 

Social Workers in secondary setting in like hospitals in Zimbabwe face a challenge of lack of team work by working with interdisciplinary teams. Social workers in Zimbabwe working in hospitals like for example Harare, Bindura hospital work with interdisciplinary teams for example doctors, nurses, case managers, and other health care professionals and lack of team work challenge they face in their field (Munyokoveri, 2019). Moreover, the major challenges associated with working in interdisciplinary teams include differing perspectives and the down looking upon the practice of social work in health settings. In terms of decision making, the organization overlooks the contribution of social workers on the ground that social workers are not medical practitioners. Differing Perspectives for example doctors and nurses are more concerned with curing the patient hence make use of the Curative Model but Social workers seeks to employ Multi Modal approach with BASIC ID (Lazarus, 1978) to effectively understand the circumstances surrounding the clients elements rather than just focusing on the Curative or Preventive aspect thus difference in techniques between social workers and the interdisciplinary team like doctors, nurses to mention but a few. Furthermore, insensitive policies are organizational challenges encountered in their field (Embriaco et.al, 2007) and (Yamatani, 2009) by social worker resulting in difference of opinion for example discharge plan, doctors and nurses may want to discharge clients like a victim of Gender Based Violence (GBV) but social workers may delay the discharge process in order to visit conduct Home Assessment of the client, offer counselling and psychosocial support as alluded by (Engel, 1966) that Medical Social Workers seeks to understand also the clients environment, family which may delay the treatment process and discharge plan. More so,   the interdisciplinary team members do not know what the Medical Social Workers role thus sometimes the roles and functions of social workers is often not appreciated and the practice often undermined. Therefore, lack of team work by working with interdisciplinary teams is also a challenge social workers face in Secondary settings like Hospitals

 Resources constraints is also a challenge faced by social workers in secondary setting like hospitals in Zimbabwe. In this respect,  resources such as financial, staffing and vehicle are some of the resource problems faced by social workers in hospitals especially government hospitals like Harare, Bindura and Bulawayo hospitals .Medical social work is a sub discipline of social work that is aligned to public health, involves assessment, diagnosis and provision of social work interventions to improve the psychosocial functioning of patients and their families (Harris, 2006) thus it requires more social work staff since there is a lot of work involved through the Case Management System in terms of assessment, planning, implementation, monitoring and evalution and also in the referral system to other helping agencies like the Department of Social Development / Social Welfare.  In this manner, (Westman and Bakker , 2008) argued lack of resources is a major component in the medical field that leads to high rates of burnout for example Medico Social Workers at Harare Hospital are poorly financed and poorly remunerated by the government of Zimbabwe. Due to the lack of resources like more social workers , financial and vehicle in the it is a challenge to help the vulnerable population, the medical social workers serve poor economic conditions, low wages and lack of opportunities, desire to gain international experience, and improved lifestyle (Tevera & Chikanda, 2009) thus lack of resources like vehicle as argued by (Mupedziswa ,2015) deters Medico Social workers from conducting home visits for clients who have been discharged for example a Child Welfare Case of a child who was sexually abused by another juvenile under Section 135 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (Chapter 9:07) and as encoded in the Children’s Act (Chapter 5:06), social workers have a role to conduct Home Assessment to probe the circumstances surrounding the offense as well as understand the Person In the Environment as alluded by (Bronfenbrenner, 1979).  Limited resources and limited funds also affect the working of medical social services. The process of getting services is exhaustive, Follow-up of patients is very weak. Family counseling is not being practiced properly in hospitals thus constraints of resources in the health sector limits the roles of Medical Social works hence it becomes a challenge. 

High Workload and case overload is also a challenge faced by Social workers in secondary setting like hospitals in Zimbabwe. Heavy caseloads are common in the field of social work, this is especially for social workers in the field of child welfare. Social workers are often given caseloads that exceed the recommended maximum which puts substantial pressure on the worker to process their cases as quickly as possible (Yamatani, Engel, & Spjedlnes, 2009). Secondary settings like hospitals like  Wilkins and Beatrice hospitals do not have many Medico Social workers hence that one or two social workers have to attend to all clients and assess all cases thus (Harris, 2006) concurred with (Embriaco et al., 2007) that overall workload has been associated with high burnout rates.  High workload experienced by health care providers can impact not only their health and quality of working life, but also can negatively impact their patient’s safety (Carayon & Alvarado, 2007) thus due to poor staffing leading to high work over load Medico Social workers may not effectively implement their roles and function at the hospital for example offering rehabilitation to clients suffering from a mental disorder like depression. Challenges social workers encounter included for example increasing paperwork, unmanageable caseloads, and difficult clients (Whitaker et al., 2006). Social workers report that major work-related stressors included insufficient time to do their job since more clients need to be attended (Whitaker & Arrington, 2008). The quick processing of cases can negatively impact clients as social workers are unable to provide adequate time and services needed for each case. Thus high Workload and case overload is also a challenge faced by Social workers in secondary setting like hospitals in Zimbabwe.

Social workers in secondary settings in Zimbabwe like Hospital face the challenge of Challenging Clients. Social workers dealing with challenging clients is one of the major challenges they experience that lead to increases in stress, for example social workers providing mental health services (Whitaker & Arrington, 2008). Research has proven  found that social workers who work with clients that have severe and persistent mental illnesses reported feeling incompetent, which led to higher levels of burnout symptoms (Acker and Lawrence ,2009). Medical social worker values the ethical concepts of self-determination of the patients as encoded in the (National Association of Social Workers, 2017) code of ethics and  strives to ensure the right of the patient to make his/her own choice about treatment, planning, care and discharge thus due to challenging clients ethical dilemmas can also arise when dealing with difficult clients (Becker, 2003). Furthermore, (Ulrich et al., 2007) found that nearly two-thirds of social workers working in hospitals reports that they felt powerless, overwhelmed, and frustrated when there were presented with ethical issues that they could not do anything about for example the Mental Health Act (Chapter 15:12) of 1956 gives clients suffering from any mental disorder like substance abuse to refuse treatment and rehabilitation services hence this can negatively impact clients as it can lead to inadequate and unethical services to clients.

However, the writer in this segment recommends that government of Zimbabwe and Private Health sector should employ more Social workers in order to combat the challenges of high workloads and caseloads providing more time for case assessment, planning and implementation through the Case Management System.. The Government of Zimbabwe should provide more finance for the health sector in order to employ more Medico Social Workers in hospitals and reduce resource constraints thus should adhere to the Abuja Declaration that prompts funding the National Health Sector with 15% from the National Budget. 

However, the Government of Zimbabwe should restructure some health related policies like the Mental Health Act (Chapter 15:12) in order to encompass the new technological changes, address the over growing population and the universal provision of health services for all clients. Thus it enable Medico Social workers and other practitioners like psychiatrist to be able to deal with challenging clients refusing treatment. 

However, the government of Zimbabwe and private hospitals should increase Medico Social workers remuneration or salary to deal with the problem of brain drain and poor social work staffing in hospitals like Harare and Bulawayo hospital. Many professional social workers are leaving the country in search for green pastures in the United Kingdom due to the fact that social workers are poorly salaried.

This paper has successfully managed to analyze challenges faced by Social workers in hospitals. It considered, lack of team work by working with interdisciplinary teams, resource constraints, high workload and case overload, challenging clients, long working hours to mention but a few. The paper is also going to proffer recommendations on how best can these challenges faced by social workers in secondary settings like hospitals be address for example through employment of more social workers in hospitals, the government of Zimbabwe to finance the health sector with 15% effectively as per the Abuja Declaration

References 

Acker, G., & Lawrence, D. (2009). Social work and managed care. Journal of  Social Work, 9(3), 269-283. doi: 10.1177/1468017309334902 

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. Experiments by nature and design. Massachusetts: Cambridge Harvard University Press

Carayon, P & Alvarado, C. J. (2007). Workload and patient safety among critical care nurses. Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America, 19(2), 121129. doi:10.1016/j.ccell.2007.02.001 

Chitereka, C. (2012). Hospital Social work practice in Zimbabwe. Social Work in Health Care, 49:9, 769-782, DOI: 1

Munyokoveri.T., Gudyanga. D Chikwaiwa.B.K., (2019). Medical social work practice. In  Mabvurira, A. Fahrudin and E. Mtetwa (2021). Professional Social work , Past , Present, Future. National Association of Social Workers of Zimbabwe Office 83, Block 3 Makombe Government Complex  Harare Zimbabwe www.nasw.org.zw

Embriaco, N., Azoulay, E., Barrau, K., Kentish, N., Pochard, F., Loundou, A., &  Papazian, L. (2007). High level of burnout in intensivists: Prevalence and associated factors. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 175(7), 686-692. 

Embriaco, N., Papazian, L., Kentish-Barnes, N., Pochard, F., & Azoulay, E. (2007). Burnout syndrome among critical care healthcare workers. Current Opinion in Critical Care, 13(5), 482-488. doi:10.1097/MCC.0b013e3282efd28a

Tevera, D. & Chikanda, A. (2009), Migrant remittances and household survival in Zimbabwe. SAMP Migration Policy Series No. 51. SAMP. Cape Town. 

Thackeray, M.G., Farley, O.W. & Skidmore, M.A. (1994). Introduction to social work. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.

Ulrich, C., O’donnell, P., Taylor, C., Farrar, A., Danis, M., & Grady, C. (2007).  Ethical climate, ethics stress, and the job satisfaction of nurses and social  workers in the united states. Social Science & Medicine, 65(8), 1708 1719. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.05.050 

Westman, M. and Bakker, A.B. (2008). Crossover of burnout among health care professionals. In Halbesleben, J.R.B. (Ed.), Handbook of Stress and Burnout in Health Care. New York, NY: Nova Science.

Whitaker, T., Weismiller, T., & Clark, E. (2006). Assuring the sufficiency of a frontline workforce: A national study of licensed social workers special report: Social work services in health care settings. Executive summary. Washington, DC: National Association of Social Workers. 

Yamatani, H., Engel, R., & Spjeldnes, S. (2009). Child welfare worker caseload: What's just right? Social Work, 54(4), 361-368. 

Factors behind the growing feminisation of migration in Africa

African migration has a long history. Migration from Africa has historically been a male-dominated phenomenon, but the pattern has changed significantly in recent decades. African women are leaving their countries of birth to create new lives elsewhere. Economic opportunities are primarily available in childcare, domestic and sex work. These trends should be of special interest to those in the policy-making spaces who are concerned about the wellbeing of female migrants. Migration patterns in present day Africa are still greatly influenced by historical factors such as colonialism and its creation of arbitrary borders that sought to divide ethnically linked populations into different countries. Over the past few decades there has been an overall rise in ‘feminisation’ of migration in Africa as millions of women gradually became economic beings with a responsibility to contribute financially to their families. As it stands now, nearly half (49%) of all migrant workers are women. An activity that used to be largely male dominated has become increasingly feminine. It was the norm especially in the colonial era for male labourers to leave their families behind and cross international boundaries looking for work, especially in the Southern African region where the South African mines proved to be a magnet for employment. Women are now more than ever migrating independently as a means of meeting their own economic needs rather than migrating to join a husband and family. This paper will therefore discuss the factors behind the growing feminisation of migration in Africa.

Economic pressures on the one hand, and demand factors, on the other, changed the migration opportunities of women and men, and in the process, also changed age-old norms about the spaces allowed to women and men. In Africa, for example, the traditional pattern of migration within and from the continent was ‘male-dominated, long distance and long term’, leaving women behind to assume family responsibilities and agricultural work. Shrinking job opportunities for men, however, has recently prompted increasing female migration both within and beyond national borders (Adepoju, 2004). Whereas traditional or customary migration seems to privilege men’s options, labour migration has somewhat equalised the migration motivations of women and men. Male and female migrants alike generally articulate economic reasons for migration in developing regions, migration is usually undertaken to improve the family’s economic conditions. Women’s reasons for migration, however, may be motivated by other non-economic factors. An important, though less explicit, motivation for women’s migration might also be the search for more open milieus. 

Gender-related factors, such as surveillance of daughters, or lack of socially accepted options to get out of a bad marriage, or fleeing from domestic violence, are conditions that can ‘push’ women out. In this regard, migration functions not just as an economic safety valve, but as an avenue to allow women passage into safer, more enabling environments. Gendered norms about migration not only influence individual motivations or household decisions but also state policies. Oishi (2002) has suggested that men’s migration is seen more in terms of economic criteria while policymaking regarding women’s migration is value-driven, i.e., influenced by values on women’s employment and their socio-economic status.

Movements of people from one area to another if it isn‘t caused by some natural disaster are primarily the direct result of inadequate economic and social opportunities in the country of origin and (presumably) superior opportunities in the area of immigration. Women migrate with the hope for better living conditions, to support their children, to escape political chaos etc. However, as the recent Human Development Report highlights, there exists the dynamic interaction between individual decisions and the socio-economic context in which they are taken. Impoverishment and the need to support family provide women with strong reasons for migrating. However, poverty does not always contribute to decisions and capabilities of women to migrate. It also depends on state and community settings, traditions and on family and individual circumstances (Waddington, 2003). 

Among other factors that may contribute significantly to the decision to migrate are for example, increasing labour demand on the service market in countries of destination, family obligations, unemployment, low wages, limited social and economic opportunities and the desire to expand their horizons. Women generally face more drastic decision-making and financial restrictions than do men, which can pose obstacles to freedom of movement. Yet income-earning opportunities can empower women and loosen traditional constraints on female mobility. Economic and social upheaval can also provide the impetus to leave: educated women unable to overcome employment discrimination in their own country migrate in search of an opportunity to find work that is more likely to better utilise their skills and that is better paid. Female migration is also motivated by other non-economic factors, including surveillance by communities and patriarchal traditions that limit opportunity and freedom, getting out of a bad and abusive marriage, fleeing from domestic violence, and desiring equal opportunities (Waddington, 2003).

Discrimination against certain groups of women – single mothers, unmarried women, widows or divorcees also drives many to move elsewhere. A significant number of women still migrate as wives, and therefore their migration status is tied to that of their spouses. In many countries, if domestic violence occurs, women risk losing their residence rights if they decide to leave their spouses. Women also migrate for the purpose of marriage. Arranged marriages are quite common in some cultures, especially among emigrants from the Indian subcontinent, where both men and women migrate for this purpose. For many, arranged marriages can lead to a lifelong supportive partnership, but some of them can be accurately described as forced (Waddington, 2003).

Moreover, mail-order bride businesses can act as facades for recruiting and trafficking women. Other contributory factors that are usually taken into account when considering migration are women‘s age, their power position within the family and their stage in the life cycle (whether they are leaving children behind or not), the capacity of the household to do without them, and the presence of other women able to replace them in their domestic activities. Migration processes with a female focus should be more closely scrutinised in order to prevent hidden risks and promote new opportunities for women and their families (Waddington, 2003).

 Women‘s decisions to migrate depend on many factors: labour market conditions, discrimination and exclusion, unfavourable legislation, risks, the impact on people left behind, etc. The growing desire to acquire an education and rapidly rising levels of literacy schooling across Africa has gained in importance as a driving force of mobility and migration of women. This often starts with local and intra-regional education. For instance, the absence of primary and secondary schools in rural areas is often a reason for women to migrate to towns, particularly when good transport is lacking, either by living in with family or community members already living there, or to by staying at boarding schools or other collective facilities (Haas, 2010).

Public debates and media representations of African women migration have paid extensive attention to the links between environmental degradation, climate change and migration. Climate change is often seen as one of main drivers of contemporary migration from African and other poor countries. This has frequently led to dire predictions that tens, if not hundreds of millions of ‘environmental refugees’ will get on the move (Myers 2002). Also the recent increase in unauthorized crossings of the Mediterranean has often been attributed to a combination of climate change, environmental degradation and population growth. 

Mobility deprivation also explains the complex effects of violence and political oppression on trends and patterns of migration. The recent history of African women migration exemplifies the relevance of violent conflict and political oppression in generating significant population mobility. Although the vast majority of Africans primarily for reasons of work, family, or study, even in regions known for refugee migration (Bakewell and Bonfiglio 2013) violence and political oppression plays an important role in generating refugee migration and internal displacement, particularly in regions such as the Great Lakes district, the Horn of Africa and certain areas in West Africa (such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, and parts of Nigeria) and, until the 1990s, in Southern Africa (Waddington, 2003). People may be denied basic human rights and the access to education and to a dignified life may be prevented, especially for females. Fundamentalism is such countries may easily grow, as it is the case with the deadly activities of Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria, that it is estimated to have caused the internal displacement of nearly 2 million people. It is to be noted that the majority of displaced people in warring nations are relocated within national borders, thus officially they are not considered international migrants, but rather internal refugees (Waddington, 2003).

Land grabbing is a phenomenon that has become increasingly important since the beginning of the new millennium. The term ‘land grabbing’ refers to the intensive exploitation of vast areas of land in rural areas of low-income countries by private international enterprises or even by foreign governments in order to implement large-scale intensive cultivations (mainly biofuels and food crops) or to exploit minerals, forestry or the touristic industry. This happens to the detriment of the poor local population, which is poorly (and often forcedly) compensated and virtually obliged to leave the rural areas to reach the degraded urban peripheries within their own countries, where they often live a difficult life in a different setting from the one they and their families have experienced for centuries. Psychological and physical impairment is frequent in such communities and international female migration may then occur (Adepoju, 2004).

A number of countries have a quite restrictive policy on sexual identity and LTB people (lesbians, transgender and bisexual people) face psychological and even physical violence, forcing them to hide their sexual identity. The impact of such policies on international migration has recently been the subject of some investigation that is in its infancy. No doubt, however, that an impact exists, especially from countries where ‘machismo’ is considered a value (Adepoju, 2004). The influence of the ethnic group, the family support both economic and societal is of the upmost importance for a specific individual to make the final choice to migrate or to stay. Educational level and access to financial means permitting to afford the migration travel have already been discussed above, but other factors such as ethnic and social customs are also important. The aspiration and desire to migrate by women is a crucial key factor that interacts with other external drivers of migration to build the final decision to actually migrate (Adepoju, 2004).

The majority of women migrate as workers or with their families, driven by economic necessity. The failure of states to fulfil economic, social and political human rights play a key role in pushing women to migrate. Thus, discussion of migration and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cannot be limited to those points that explicitly mention migrants. Fulfillment of all of the SDGs is necessary to create an environment where women can choose to migrate or remain at home. The growing power of corporations to displace people and undermine livelihoods, while demanding cheap labour elsewhere, is a central factor in driving migration, including irregular migration. Women migrant workers’ role in development cannot be instrumentalized as “agents of development,” but must be seen in the complex nexus of their choices, their lack of choices, their family relationships and their ability to claim rights, including economic and social human rights (Adepoju, 2004).

The discussion above has indicated that female migration in Africa has come of age as women are forced to take a leading role in meeting the livelihood needs of their families. Over the past decades, female-headed households have become the norm and hence the pressure to cross boundaries in search of work ranging from domestic care work to prostitution has increased for many African women. Understanding the drivers of migration within the African context will help to clarify policy choices and also enable to efforts to encourage safe, orderly and regular migration while discouraging irregular and other forms of involuntary migration. The commitments outlined here demonstrate the need for states on the continent to focus on long term development efforts in line with the SDGs goals, environmental protection initiatives, and conflict resolutions efforts in order to create the necessary environment in which the rising African women migration takes place with a view to harnessing the catalytic role of migration in development. 

REFERENCES

Adepoju, A., (2003). "Continuity and changing configurations of migration to and from the Republic of South Africa" International Migration Vol. 41, No. 1.

Adepoju, A., (2004). "Review of research and data on human trafficking in Sub-Saharan Africa" Paper presented at the IOM International Expert Meeting on Improving Data and Research on Human Trafficking, Rome 27-28 May.

Adepoju, A., (2004). "Trends in international migration in and from Africa" in Massey, D. S. and J. E. Taylor (Eds). International Migration Prospects and Policies in a Global Market. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Adepoju. (2004). Changing Configurations of Migration in Africa. Accessed on http://tinyurl.com/mtkfnhk

De Jong, G. F. (2000). Expectations, Gender and norms in Migration decision making. Population Studies 54(3): 307-319.

Hania Zlotnik, (2003). “The Global Dimensions of Female Migration” in the Migration Information Source, Available from http://tinyurl.com/2bvpz8h

R. Carlota, M. Dominguez, and J. Morais. (2005). “Crossing Borders: Remittances, Gender and Development.” http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0001496/index.php

Waddington. (2003). Livelihood Outcomes of Migration for Poor People. Working Paper T1. Sussex Centre for Migration Research. Accessed on http://tinyurl.com/kprrfyv

Assessment of Economic structural adjustment programs (ESAPs) on Zimbabwe

The paper argues that the economic structural adjustment programs (ESAPs), introduced by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as major international financial institutions in economic globalization, have been an inappropriate public policy for Zimbabwe. These economic reforms inflate poverty, decrease the country’s capability to develop a strong diversified domestic economy, increase the exploitation of workers through deregulation accompanied by environmental degradation. ESAPs’ devastation of the poor translates into recurrences of socio-economic crises that threaten peace and social justice and is compounded by natural calamities and the relentlessness of the HIVIAIDS pandemic. Human helping professionals like social workers are left to scramble for diminishing resources to meet the basic needs of more clients with less. To a greater extent, the country did not benefit from ESAP.

ESAP resulted in the government cutting budgets in several ministries and instituted measures towards curtailing losses of parastatals (Makamure et al, 2001). The government reduced its intervention that had been aimed at the further development of the agricultural sector, while it pushed for export-oriented production (production of tradables) (Nyagura, 1998).

Although the government’s commitment to ESAP was beyond questioning, it soon became apparent that there were problems associated with the sequencing and phasing of measures, as well as the degree to which some measures could be thoroughly or comprehensively implemented within a short period. First, there was the inescapable political sensitivity of some measures such as price decontrols, reductions in social services, levying of cost recovery measures and retrenchments. Second, there was the constant need to balance the demands of competing economic groups, which continuously lobbied for conflicting policies (Nyagura, 1998). This was particularly the case in relation to the attempt to balance the interests of workers and businesses and those of the beneficiaries of the inward-looking import substitution regime with those of the newly emerging or expanding businesses benefitting from the new policies. Finally, implementing ESAP was de-established by the worst drought in Zimbabwe’s living memory which occurred in 1991/92 resulting in a plunge in agricultural output, and an increase in government expenditures for food imports and social expenditure with negative multiplier consequences for the economy. But the government did earnestly implement many of the ESAP measures. (Nyagura, 1998).

It is clear from the foregoing that two years after the inception of ESAP, living standards in Zimbabwe had declined and that the country was still mired in an economic quagmire from which there seemed to be little hope of revival. It was also clear that the emerging problems of unemployment and underemployment were not only frictional but structural and that the Social Dimensions Fund was not only inadequate, but ill-equipped to deal with the structural problems. Overall, there was no firm evidence of a move towards restructuring along the lines expected by ESAP, except for the few cases in horticulture, furniture and tourism whose economic consequences for the economy were marginal (Nyagura, 1998).

The combined effect of falling output and increasing money supply coupled with a late credit crunch and currency depreciation not only negatively affected most of the industries which had been protected by the import-substitution regime, and which were very import dependent, but it also gravely affected the living standards of all segments of the low income population in that prices of final goods and services rose phenomenally between 1989 and 1992 with the cost of food rising by 93 per cent, clothing by 62 per cent, of amenities by 50 per cent, of medical care by 44 per cent, of transportation by 94 per cent and of education by 92 percent (Nyagura, 1998).

The major effects of ESAP on the urban informal sector may be expected to have been transmitted through the following consequences of ESAP on the overall economy: (i) An increase in the cost of inputs (ii) A decrease in the availability of inputs

(iii) A decrease in household savings

(iv) A decrease in demand for urban informal sector products

(v) A substitution effect

(vi) An increase in urban

(viii) Relaxation of foreign exchange and trade restrictions

As mentioned above, some of the ESAP policies indirectly affected mobility patterns and, in most cases, negatively, as with insecure families due to labour displacement or relocation. Such policies were explicitly related to certain sectors including, labour, transport, foodstuff prices, and agriculture. As expressed in the Government’s policy document, Zimbabwe: Framework for Economic Reform (1991-95), domestic deregulation policies were designed to see that wage labour, basic commodity pricing (including food and transport), and agricultural pricing, were all determined by market forces, instead of the government meddling in such affairs.

The effects of deregulation varied with each sector. Chipika (1998) reported that the retrenchment of workers was severe, with 32,440 formal sector jobs lost by December 1995 compared to the original target of 20,000. Cuts in public transport subsidies and decontrolling of these prices saw fewer households in Harare being able to pay for transport to work (Kanji, 1995). Several men and women had trekked to work or had arranged lifts, which cost less than the bus service, and this basically affected the lower-paid workers.

Although there are no studies on the effects of these policies on the long- distance rural public transport sector, what happened in urban areas was precisely the case in rural areas. It was common to see on national television stranded passengers during major public holidays, particularly Christmas, because most urban migrants adjusted their rural visits to once a year. Public-transport operators continued to hike fares, citing high operation costs because of the devaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar. In the rural areas, the removal of subsidies resulted in the prices of commodities such as seeds and fertilizers rising, dramatically (Chipika, 1998).

The overall effects were massive erosion of farmers’ incomes and increasingly poorer and insecure households (separated by long distance and facing risk of break-ups), whose major income sources, farming and migration, had run dry. Households, particularly lower-income migrant ones, had to devise strategies to deal with this critical situation. Among others, strategies included, considerations for re-migration for the retrenched, having single residence (temporarily close the rural residence) for those who still worked in urban areas, or seeking transfer to smaller urban areas closer to the migrant’s rural home (Chipika, 1998).

However, some of these strategies posed serious dilemmas for the families involved simply because they were also less workable because of structural constraints. For example, for those who wished to re-migrate or move to nearby smaller towns, they were faced with an economy infested with problems like increased unemployment and intensified de-industrialization (Tevera 1998). This was also a period when most foreign investors would prefer to start their businesses in the capital city, where infrastructure already existed.

The Government’s reversal of regulations that were initially aimed at ensuring job security obviously resulted in job losses. Government had estimated that the number of job losses in relation to the private sector was going to be around 20 000 (Government of Zimbabwe, 1991). But, Chipika (1998) reported that the retrenchment of workers was severe, with 32,440 formal sector jobs lost by December 1995 compared to the original target of 20,000. Furthermore, several researchers (e.g. Kadenge et al., 1992; Chakaodza, 1993 and Tevera, 1998) all argue that, already there was a high level of unemployment in Zimbabwe before ESAP, but the Government’s and the private sector’s retrenchments increased the unemployment rate to unprecedented proportions.

By the end of 1995, the government had removed all price controls except on a few basic foodstuffs. The implications of the removal of government price controls for the people of Zimbabwe, particularly low-income households, were several. Prices naturally rose and inflation. For instance, in May 1991, the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe reported that the average price increase stood at 47% (Sunday Mail, May 12, 1991) and between 1992-3, Chakaodza (1993:65) reported that inflation was close to 50%. According to Kadenge et al. (1992), the increase in prices implied the erosion of real incomes, given that there was no equal increase in nominal wages and/or incomes. Chakaodza (1993:65) argued that the removal of price controls increased costs on the working people. This, in turn, led to social problems like unprecedented levels of crime, begging by `street kids’, prostitution, the AIDS epidemic and drug abuse, as well as the impoverishment of significant strata of the urban and rural populations.

Tevera (1995) argued that after the removal of price controls, food prices and transport fares rose rapidly, and vulnerable groups in both urban and rural areas could not meet basic needs such as food, shelter, education and health. Kanji (1995:39) argues that the ‘increased prices of basic foods in this period directly resulted from the lifting of food subsidies and not the importation of food because of drought. Cuts in public transport subsidies and decontrolling of these prices saw fewer households in Harare being able to pay for transport to work. In rural areas, most peasant households blamed the soaring bus fares during the economic reforms for their sons’, daughters’ or spouses’ failure to pay them visits and hence, their lack of financial support, which is associated with visits by the migrants. Usually when they visit home, migrants bring remittances with them, which are mainly as groceries and cash.

Deregulation saw the removal of agricultural produce price controls, marketing monopolies by parastatals, and lifting of subsidies on crop inputs. Before the introduction of ESAP in 1991, agricultural marketing parastatals [e.g. Grain Marketing Board (GMB) and Cotton Marketing Board (CMB)] were the sole marketing channels through which producers were obliged by law to deliver their agricultural products. The implication of agricultural price decontrol was quite clear: agricultural incomes improved. But this improvement was not sustained in the long term because the removal of subsidies resulted in the prices of commodities such as seeds and fertilizers rising dramatically. Literature on the effects of individual characteristics on long-distance migration suggests that a larger proportion of men than women usually migrate for longer distances to urban centres as well as internationally to work for wages. This shows the less influence exerted by distance on males than on females (Chipika, 1998).

The economic structural adjustment reforms had been designed on the assumption that they would lead to resources shifting from non-tradable and protected import- competing to tradable and unprotected import-competing sectors (World Bank 1999). The contraction of the former would be more than compensated by an expansion of the latter. This was supposed to stimulate growth. That this did not occur to any significant degree was a clear paradox that can be easily explained by the failure of the government to adhere to the internal logic of the reforms (Bautista and Thomas, 1998). For example, fiscal stabilisation, which was required up-front, was never seriously attempted because the government found it politically difficult to reduce its expenditure levels. Exogenous factors, in particular the worst drought in living memory, which devastated the country very early in the reform process, served merely to aggravate the situation (Mumbengegwi and Mabugu, 2002). The incompatibilities in implementing the various elements of the programme undermined the credibility of the reforms and rendered them prone to policy reversals, as had occurred frequently (Dashwood, 2000). The vigorous pursuit of trade liberalisation while failing to reform the public sector and to reduce the budget deficit was an important source of the many difficulties that confronted the economy during ESAP (Nyagura, 1998). Thus, if promoting growth was the main purpose of ESAP, then it was a dismal failure.

In conclusion, this study shows that ESAP has further marginalized the Zimbabwean people more than they were ever before, by creating an environment that threatens peace and social justice. While the structural adjustment program, that was suggested by the WB and IMF and adopted by the Zimbabwean government might be good for western industrialized nations, it has created a devastating impact on HIV/AIDS and various natural calamities. Additionally some parallels have been drawn between the impact of economic policies on social welfare of the poor in Zimbabwe and the US. In both cases, there is a need to integrate social and economic development by addressing issues of human capital development and budget austerity versus consumption. There is a possibility of serious instability and unrest in Zimbabwe as a wave of political turmoil sweeps the country (Schillinger, 1998). The general impression held about Africa is filled with mythology, but realistically, there are smart African leaders, women, men, and children as anywhere in the world and the existence of very real problems with people still surviving in sub-Saharan Africa is not deniable (Toler, 1998). Progressive human service professionals are challenged to contribute to effective public policy formulation, implementation and evaluation in pursuit of economic, social and human rights.

REFERENCES

Central Statistical Office. (1998). Poverty in Zimbabwe. Harare: CSO.

Chakaodza A.M. (1993). Structural Adjustment in Zambia and Zimbabwe: Reconstructive or Destructive? Third World Pub. House (pvt) ltd, Harare

Findley, S. (1994). ‘Does drought increase migration? A study of migration from rural Mali during the 1983-1985 Drought’. International Migration Review, vol. XXVIII No.3: 543- 550.

Gwaunza, E. (1998). The Impact of Labour Migration on Family Organization in Zimbabwe pp 49-55. In Labour and Migration in Southern Africa, Edited by L. Sachikonye. Harare: SAPES Books.

Kadenge, P. (1992). ‘Zimbabwe’s Structural Adjustment Programme: The First Year Experience’, in Mwanza, A (ed.), Structural Adjustment Programmes in SADC, SAPES Books, Harare

Kanji, N. (1995). ‘Gender, Poverty and Economic Adjustment in Harare, Zimbabwe’. Environment and Urbanization, Vol. 7, No. 1:37-55 Layard, R. 2003. Lecture 3: What Would Make a Happier Society? http://cep.Ise.ac.uk/events/lectures/layard/RL050303.pdf

Standing, G. (1991). ‘Structural Adjustment and Labour Market Policies: Towards Social Adjustment?’, in Standing, G. and V. Tokman (ed.), Towards Social Adjustment: Labour Market Issues in Structural Adjustment. pp. 5-52. ILO, Geneva

Stillwell, J. 1991. Spatial Interaction Models and the Propensity to migrate over distance. In Migration Models: Macro and Micro Approaches, Edited by J. Stillwell and P. Congdon. London and New York: Belhaven Press.

Tevera, D.S. (1995), ‘Indigenisation of the Zimbabwe Economy & the Emerging Economic & Social-spatial Impacts’, Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review, vol. XII, no.2, OSSREA.

Tevera, D. S. (1998). Micro and Small-scale Enterprises in Shamva District within the Context of an Adjusting National Economy pp 253-292. In Economic Policy Reforms and Meso-Scale Rural Market Changes in Zimbabwe: The Case of Shamva District, Edited by L. Masuko. Harare: IDS. The Sunday Mail, May 2 1991, Zimpapers, Harare 

Smiling and Frowning Faces Gender Methodology ( By Tapiwa Muzadzi Gudza)

This guide is intended to instruct the user on how to conduct a Gender dialogue using the Smiling and Frowning methodology. The methodology employs basic illustration to unpack gender issues and systematically address them. According to Mayoux (2016), the use of illustrations fosters creative and lateral thinking, and complex analysis can be completed on a single page with few or no words. Gender Methodology promotes shared decision making by analyzing interpersonal relationships and mapping collective solutions.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14pIkXbZPYhLUOSdURBRPObs2ID_IcFBw/view?usp=drivesdk 

Environmental Mainstreaming Considerations (By Tapiwa Muzadzi Gudza)

One of the most important considerations for effectively mainstreaming environmental and social safeguards into climate change is ensuring that no one is left behind. The different vulnerabilities and capabilities of different groups of people, as well as how they are impacted by climate change and environmental degradation, should be considered when developing objectives and activities. Climate change programmes at least should aim to enhance the capabilities of the vulnerable groups. It is in this context stakeholder mapping and engagement should be exhaustive. 

The environmental and safe guards mainstreaming should ensure that no harm principle is considered. The health and people’s rights to clean and safe environment should be not violated. The mainstreaming should support access to information, participation and justice in environmental and climate matters. It is in this context that Environmental Impact Assessments and Strategic Environmental Assessments should be carried at the earliest stages.

The impact of environmental and social safeguards should consider gender equality and women’s empowerment. The impact of the environment and climate change on men and women and their age segmentation grouping should be identified and addressed. Women usually have a small ecological footprint hence their capacities and skills should be developed. Access and control of environmental assets should be strengthened and their participation in policy and decision making should be enhanced in environmental and climate matters.

The environmental mainstreaming should take consider building resilience to natural, biological and technological hazards.  Resilient communities will be able to bounce back when shocks and stresses strike hence limiting the impact. The mainstreaming goal should be backed by resources and funds to support resilience building interventions. 

Sustainability should be considered when mainstreaming environmental and safeguard issues in Climate change. Long-term economic, social, and environmental benefits should be ensured through planning and programming. Hence working with Government stakeholders is necessary to ensure that when programmes and projects end there will continuity.

While mainstreaming environmental and safeguard issues accountability should be considered.  There should be fluid systems to ensure that addresses potential intervention related complaints and grievances. Compliance policies should form the regulatory parameters of the mainstreaming framework.