Exploring the role of remittances in household livelihood strategies in Glen-Norah, Harare.
Date
2009-09-08T09:47:55Z
Authors
Mukwedeya, Tatenda G.
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Abstract
The political and socio-economic challenges over the last nine years broadly referred as the ‘Zimbabwe crisis’ have witnessed the flight of millions of Zimbabweans to save themselves and their families left behind. As a result, remittances being sent back to support families are estimated to be around USD1 billion a year. However, despite these huge flows of remittances, studies that try to understand this phenomenon especially amongst recipients are scant. This study takes a micro-level approach by exploring the role of remittances in household livelihoods in the high density suburb of Glen Norah in Harare. The study utilises in-depth interviews with recipient household heads in Glen Norah as the primary data collection technique and also uses informal conversations and observation to support them. The research also uses these methods to draw information from remittance senders and other actors involved in remitting in Johannesburg.
This research shows that households in Glen Norah have adopted multiple strategies to allow them to manage in the crisis. However, it will be argued that as resources have dwindled in the country, an external means of sustenance in the form of remittances has increasingly been playing a more central role as the crisis has deepened. The study shows how patterns of remittances have changed to allow households to cope as the crisis has deepened. It also shows how remittances have been used to support survival and livelihood strategies before concluding that remittances have enabled households in Glen Norah to manage at probably the most difficult juncture of the crisis and may have capacitated them to engage in livelihood strategies.