Economic meltdown in Bulawayo

Although the massive economic problems Zimbabwe is grappling with are not unique to Bulawayo, it is probably the country’s hardest-hit city. It has seen countless company closures and downsizings. Many people have relocated their businesses to Harare, leaving the once productive industrial areas of Belmont and Donnington bereft. 

A significant number of factories have been turned into shops and warehouses for imported goods manufactured elsewhere. 

  The likes of (supermarket retail chain) TM, Delta (Beverages) and Datlabs are some of the few companies that have remained viable and that is only because of external funding support from South Africa, some industries can no longer be revived, especially those in textile and footwear, because of competition from cheaper imports.

 This former factory in the Belmont industrial area has been converted into a Pentecostal church.

Graduates survive by fixing shoes,Vending, Touting and Taxi driving.

 Thousands of university and tertiary college graduates are increasingly working in the most basic, menial jobs such as vending, touting and taxi driving. Some survive by repairing shoes and hand bags in which they make an average of $20 per day . This is bitter and embarrassing because they cannot adequately look after their parents who gave up all their earthly possessions so that their son could get a good education. They find it hard enough just to sustain their own families and the skills that they acquired all those years ago at university have gone down the drain.All this is because of  the shrinking prospects of employment opportunities in the country especially in Bulawayo where most industries have closed.

The country‘s unemployment rate is higher than 85% and more and more people are becoming jobless every day as more companies close down as a result of the harsh economic conditions.

Small Businesses and the economy..

Small Businesses and the economy..

Small businesses are recognized as productive drivers of the economic growth. They are empowering and creating employment, especially in Bulawayo where 90 percent of the workers are now in the informal sector due to the closure of industries in the city. The informal sector has replaced the formal sector as company closures continue. In 2014 alone at least  75  companies countrywide closed  down and in 2015 and those who lost their jobs joined the informal sector which has increased from 20% to 83%.

estimates that in 2014 alone, at least 75 companies countrywide closed down and about 9 617 people lost their jobs. These figures are alarming considering that by the end of 2013 only 20% of the active population was employed in the formal sector, meaning that those that lost their jobs were added to an already long list of unemployed people and possibly to the informal sector; bringing the total percentage of those in the informal sector today to no less than 86%. - See more at: http://www.zimeye.com/after-kicking-tsvangirai-out-biti/#sthash.k1FxHyHh.dpuf

The informal sector has replaced the formal sector as company closures continue unabated with the situation escalating - See more at: http://www.zimeye.com/after-kicking-tsvangirai-out-biti/#sthash.k1FxHyHh.dpuf

The informal sector has replaced the formal sector as company closures continue unabated with the situation escalating - See more at: http://www.zimeye.com/after-kicking-tsvangirai-out-biti/#sthash.k1FxHyHh.dpuf

The informal sector has replaced the formal sector as company closures continue unabated with the situation escalating - See more at: http://www.zimeye.com/after-kicking-tsvangirai-out-biti/#sthash.k1FxHyHh.dpuf

The informal sector has replaced the formal sector as company closures continue unabated with the situation escalating - See more at: http://www.zimeye.com/after-kicking-tsvangirai-out-biti/#sthash.k1FxHyHh.dpuf

The informal sector has replaced the formal sector as company closures continue unabated with the situation escalating - See more at: http://www.zimeye.com/after-kicking-tsvangirai-out-biti/#sthash.k1FxHyHh.dpuf