REMITTANCES AND RURAL LIVELIHOODS IN NGONDYORE COMMUNITY IN ZIMBABWE

Abstract

Rural to urban migration forms the largest component of migration in Zimbabwe like other African economies; people have embarked on a mass exodus to urban areas in search of better opportunities than what is proffered by the countryside. This paper documents the salient role that the remittances generated by the migrants play in sustaining rural livelihoods. The paper presents the vast benefits and poverty reduction effect of remittances on households and the challenges faced in receiving remittances. The latter is often influenced by the methods of transfer used. The demographic profiles of both the remitters and recipients have an inherent impact on both benefits and challenges that recipients face. Informal channel usage is rampant in Zimbabwe and this has been shaped by the structural architecture of Zimbabwe‘s, social, economic, political and institutional economy. Interventions to mitigate the challenges and to promote existing benefits include considering and reviving existing government policies on rural development and provide infrastructural essentials like roads, bridges and telecommunications, among others.