A typographical error was noted in the figures provided by the Government of Zimbabwe, with regards to the Province of
Manicaland. The figures in this table use the data provided to the mission by local authorities in Manicaland and attributes the
remaining discrepancy to the "unaccounted for" column. Source: Ministry of Local Government, GoZ, 8 July 2005
While there is a degree of overlap between those who lost their homes and those who lost their
businesses, the total figure of 650,000 to 700,000 people directly affected by the Operation is
considered plausible. This takes into account other reports of the number of people arrested for
alleged illegal or criminal activities (40,000), the substantial number of street vendors and
hawkers who were omnipresent in all cities and towns prior to the Operation, and discrepancies
noted between the figures provided by the Central Government, and those provided directly to the
mission by Resident Ministers (Governors) and Mayors in the course of on-site visits.
3.2.3
Indirectly affected population
The above figures does not, however, include those whose livelihoods are indirectly affected by,
for example, loss of rental income and the disruption of highly integrated and complex networks
involved in the supply chain of the informal economy. The upstream and downstream linkages
include, for example, transport and distribution services, suppliers of foodstuffs from rural areas
and, conversely, suppliers of inputs to rural areas, formal and informal micro-credit institutions,
and a wide range of part-time and casual labour. Based on several studies and surveys conducted
in the past five years, a reasonable multiplier effect would bring the number of indirectly affected
people to over 2.1 million.
Another approximation is based on the percentage of the active population engaged in the
informal economy. Several authoritative studies indicate a steady growth in the share of the
informal economy, from 10% of the labour force in 1982 to 20% by 1986/87, 27% by 1991 and
close to 40% by 1998. As the formal economy is estimated to have shrunk by up to 40% over the
last six years, it is safe to assume that the informal economy, at the time of the Operation was
33
Select target paragraph3
Add to table of contents