ActionAid International - Combined Harare Residents’ Association - A Study on the impact of “Operation
Murambatsvina/Restore Order”
From the data generated from the survey, 97% (n = 13 712) of homesteads visited in the
26 wards were affected by the Operation in varying proportions and different ways.
Demographic data for the general population is discussed below:
• Overall population sampled is 81,995 with an average household size of 5.8
•
The majority of respondents and household heads were male (56% and 61%
respectively)
•
The total number of households affected by the operation (which includes;
households that lost accommodation, had shelter lost, lost livelihoods, children
not attending school as a result) was 97% (13,712) of sampled households.
•
The average age of the head of household is 41 years, with the youngest reported
as 12 years old and the oldest as 89 years old.
Female household heads are slightly older than male household heads, 43 and 39
years old, respectively.
Approximately 12% of homesteads visited are above 60 years (elderly headed)
and only 1% (142) were headed by minors (commonly referred to as child
headed, below 18 years).
32% of interviewed households were hosting orphans, whilst a further 13% were
hosting at least a chronically ill individual. A minority of 6% were hosting at least
a mentally/physically challenged person.
As a measure of vulnerability, the analysis classified all households in five
categories (see table below). Most households interviewed fall in 3 categories
(39%), whilst in 1 category: 15%; 2 categories: 31%; 4 categories: 11% and only
4% in the 5 categories.
Out of the 14,137 sampled homesteads, 22% of them reported that children were
not attending school as a direct result of the Operation.
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Livelihoods
The household survey inquired on primary sources of income of those affected by the
Operation, since secondary information suggests that the Operation has had an adverse
effect on the livelihoods.
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A majority (73%) of urban dwellers were engaged in informal trading1 prior to
Operation Murambatvsina/Restore Order from the sample.
The primary sources of livelihood that have were cited to have been disrupted
(73%) as a result of the Operation from the sample include: tuck shop ownership
(9%), flea market (11%), fruit and vegetable vending (17%), offering
accommodation (18%), cross border trader (6%) and petty trade (5%) such as
sale of firewood.
Unfortunately, the vulnerable strata mentioned earlier were mainly engaged in the
informal sector as captured below:
Proportions who were engaged informal and formal sectors
Strata
Informal sector
Female headed households
91%
Child headed households
100%
Households hosting orphans
92%
Formal sector
9%
0%
8%
1
Informal trading includes; flea market, tuck shop, vending, skilled/artisan, offering accommodation,
and petty trade.
ii