Unemployment in Zimbabwe

You think we have problems in Europe.

With unemployment at more than 90%, many Zimbabweans have become vendors and rely on cross-border trading to make a living. Officials in the country have tried to stop the trend by passing laws preventing organisations from laying off workers and forcing them to give workers severance pay, but economists warn the number of jobless will continue going up as the economy worsens.

The cash-strapped government has again been forced to defer payment of the July salaries to the rest of its employees, including teachers, pensioners and grant-aided workers, to next month.

Civil servants last month staged a one-day work stoppage following a salary delay.

The government warned punitive measures would be taken on those who decide to take such actions in future.

“Government will not apply the ‘no-work no-pay principle’, but I would like to warn you that in future such actions will not be tolerated and government will not hesitate to apply the laws. Cabinet has already approved this position,” she said.

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern Africa known for its dramatic landscape and diverse wildlife, much of it within parks, reserves and safari areas. On the Zambezi River, Victoria Falls make a thundering 108m drop into narrow Batoka Gorge, where there’s white-water rafting and bungee-jumping. Downstream are Matusadona and Mana Pools national parks, home to hippos, rhinos and birdlife.

Climate change means drought in Africa. Lifes hard.