HIGHFIELD and Epworth have poverty levels that are unexpectedly high and the country needs to address issues of poverty, a book on poverty levels has shown.
BUSINESS REPORTER
Speaking at the launch of the book entitled A Specialised Study on Urban Poverty in Highfield and Epworth High-Density Suburbs, Harare Metropolitan Province, Zimbabwe, Finance and Economic Development minister Patrick Chinamasa yesterday said the nature of urban poverty differs from rural poverty, in that urban economies are cash-based.
“Food, accommodation, building materials, and even water and energy, have to be paid for. The living conditions are often overcrowded and unhygienic and disease outbreaks are common. Social networks and family ties are usually not as strong as those in rural areas,” Chinamasa said.
“Economic activities are low, with high unemployment and under-employment. Children are more vulnerable than adults and bear the brunt of urban poverty and suffer many deprivations.”
The results from the book show that two out of three households lived in poverty, and one in 10 households lived in extreme poverty. Poverty depths and severity were also high.
“The results of the specialised study revealed that there are pockets of deep urban poverty in Zimbabwe, an undesirable situation that needs to be addressed,” he said.
Chinamasa said government is committed to fight poverty in all dimensions and is working to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, most of which directly or indirectly affect children.
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He said Zimbabwe’s Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZimAsset), 2013-2018, which is a pro-poor, child sensitive economic blueprint that aims to provide an enabling environment for sustainable economic empowerment and social transformation to the people of Zimbabwe.
He said the book not only presents the evidence about urban poverty, but analyses and interprets the data, and contextualises the findings in relation to other studies, in particular, the Poverty Income Consumption Expenditure Survey and the Zimbabwe Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey.
“We hope that the book will stimulate thinking and debate that will result in positive steps in uplifting and improving the lives of the urban poor, especially children. This will enable policymakers to continue to formulate and implement pro-poor, child sensitive policies that ensure equitable and inclusive growth,” he said.
