ActionAid International - Combined Harare Residents’ Association - A Study on the impact of “Operation
Murambatsvina/Restore Order”
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Harare Operation Murambatsvina Survey represents a unique opportunity to gain
insights into the impact of Operation Murambatsvina on communities and households
where the Operation was executed since 18 May 2005. This report attempts to give a
factual account of the impact Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order. This is done
through analysis of the impact at both household level and community level.
A structured questionnaire was used in the collection of data from 14,137 respondents
distributed in 26 affected high density suburbs. The quantitative household survey was
designed to collect the following types of information from the interviewed households:
1) household demographics, 2) Livelihood activities affected by the operation, 3)
household impact, 4) current coping mechanisms being employed by the communities in
response to the operation, 5) assistance communities are currently receiving 6) assistance
currently being offered and assistance perceived as required by the communities.
Initially 26 team leaders for each ward were trained on the administration of the
questionnaire and sampling procedures. Thereafter, a further 9 researchers were trained
by the trained by the team leaders at ward level. Therefore, 260 researchers collected this
information over a two day period. At least 500 homesteads were visited during the
course of the study. This represents a third of households per ward. Data collected was
entered stored and exported into Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 13.
Subsequently, analysis was done to generate frequencies, descriptive and derived
variables.
Socio-demographic data of the sampled wards
Assumptions:
1. At least 3 households stay at one homestead
2. Average household size is 5.8
3. Assume the remaining 4 high density residential wards are not different from the
other samples wards.
4. 97% of households affected by the operation
Calculation Process:
1. 14,137 households were survey
2. total population surveyed is 81,995
Based on these figures and assumptions, the following are projected households that
were affected by the operation;
Adding the remaining 4 wards – 30/26 * 14,137 = 16,311 households in all 30 wards
Total population affected, households sampled*average household size*average
households per homestead*
16,311*5.8*3 = 283 811
However the sample is only a third of the population in the wards. Therefore, the total
population would be:
283 811*3= 851 434
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