Zimbabwe could learn from Sassa amid its Covid-19 crisis

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The informal sector accounts for 90% of country’s workforce, with the formal and informal divide exposed by the pandemic, writes Sikhululekile Mashingaidze

The informal sector accounts for 90% of country’s workforce, with the formal and informal divide exposed by the pandemicZimbabwe’s first confirmed Covid-19 case was announced on March 20, and the first death on March 23. Ten days later, the government, through the promulgation of a series of statutory instruments such as statutory instrument 83, announced a prevention, containment and treatment emergency response that began with a 21-day nationwide lockdown.

These seemingly innovative measures belie a cash crisis in which cash has moved from the banks to the street at exorbitant premiums These seemingly innovative measures belie a cash crisis in which cash has moved from the banks to the street at exorbitant premiums . There is also a dual pricing system for cash and non-cash purchases, with the latter being more expensive. This dual pricing system has also been fueled by an interbank exchange rate officially pegged at $1 to Z$25 in a pricing system determined by informal market rates.

have all but reinforced demand for informal foreign currency exchange services. The price has shot up from Z$40 to above Z$60 to the dollar since the lockdown. The SA social grants system, by comparison, largely conforms to the expectation that social protection should be predictable, durable, consistent and transparent

The SA Older Persons’ Grant also offers instructive lessons. It is pegged at about R1,800, which translates to about $100 compared to the Z$200 . However, these best practices are at present not replicable in Zimbabwe in the absence of the much-needed political will to promote economic stability and stem corruption.

 

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