JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA
Mangwe villagers, located in Zimbabwe’s remote province of Matabeleland South, have always been yearning for relief.
But what does relief mean to such folks as Mangwe’s? Well, it’s a sense of reassurance and relaxation following release from anxiety or distress. After securing food, rainfall, and windfall.
The 2023-2024 cropping season has generally been a bad one due to mostly El Nino induced drought and worse still, in drought-prone areas like Matabeleland South.
Sadder still, for people living in areas like Mangwe, where they rely heavily on nature for their livelihoods and sustenance, women and children are the hardest hit.
Here, people survive on harvesting mopani worms, amacimbi in Ndebele.
Outside of livestock and amacimbi as well as market gardening to some extent, generally business grinds to a halt, taking a huge toll on the downtrodden villagers in these parts.
But since the launch of the Harmonised Social Cash Transfer (HSCT) and the Emergency Social Cash Transfer Programme (ESCT) – brought by the Government through the Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare and in partnership with UNICEF Zimbabwe – the Mangwe community can see better days ahead.
HSCT and ESCT are unconditional cash transfer programmes helping underprivileged households. And the funds are predicated on a multi-purpose, unconditional cash disbursement.
This is meant to give households the flexibility to use the funds for food, school expenses, or accessing healthcare, thereby contributing to resilience building. More often than not households have invested in income generating projects like poultry, animal husbandry or community savings where villagers could borrow from at zero interest.
Each family is entitled to a monthly cash transfer! The cash is given to each individual, for a family of up to six members.
The objectives are to enable beneficiary homes to increase their consumption to a level above the food poverty line, to reduce the number of ultra-poor families and to help beneficiaries avoid risky coping strategies. Such as child labour and early marriage.
In Mangwe, the programmes are being implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare – as well as the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. This is with funding from the German Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW).
“I have been paying for my grandchild’s school fees,” said 67-year-old Mkhumbulo Mpofu.
“For the first time I managed to buy three donkeys to use in my fields as draught power, indigenous chicken and goats, all from ESCT savings.”
Mpofu however admits his fellow villagers used to be thoroughly pessimistic.
“Since we could get our money through the sale of mopane worms, the programmes seemed to be of no importance,” added Mpofu.
“But the Government and their partners continued to teach us that there are things that may befall us that might put us on the point of need. Definitely, that time has come. You rarely see a mopane worm in these trees.”
It was the same situation for Sidumisile Mguni (71), who is now using the cash transfers to renovate, which previously couldn’t accommodate all her grandchildren.
“I am now too old to do heavy duties. I used to rely on mopani worms, but things have really changed,” said Gogo Mguni.
“During our good times, we would fetch at least US$70 per month, but the worms are no longer there. We are grateful for the Government’s programmes that bring in donors who assist us with the money to take care of our needs.”
Gogo Mguni gets US$48 every month, which she uses for food and other basic needs. Her family is more comfortable than ever before. She has also renovated her home.
In Mangwe, weather patterns have drastically changed. This is due to climate change. So having a thatched roof will aid in defeating the sizzling temperatures during day and night.
The one good thing she appreciated was that the money was directly sent to her. She picks up the cash with no questions asked!
While the money comes once every month, with some slight delays maybe, she is assured that it will come hence she can get groceries in advance knowing she will pay back!
“The money might delay by a week or two but it will and now since I am known in the area, I am able to get what I want from the shop on credit then pay later,” she said.
She said while she has children living in South Africa, she can’t pin her hopes on them since they are also struggling to make ends meet.
The only relief is coming by way of cash transfers and already it is proving to be worthwhile. Gogo Mguni said she would also love to start her income generating projects from the savings, once she is done with rebuilding her hut.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, the caterpillar is one of the best-known and most economically important forestry resource products of the mopane woodlands in southern Zimbabwe, Botswana and northern South Africa.
A more sustainable livelihood is key to many villagers in Mangwe and perhaps this includes making the most out of the cash transfers.
Zimbabwe declared an El Niño-linked drought disaster, appealing for $2 billion to help feed millions of people threatened with hunger.
Rains failed across 80% of the country, and this year’s grain harvest is expected to be well-short of needs. An estimated 2.7 million rural Zimbabweans are currently dependent on food aid – roughly 20% of the population – while urban residents are also struggling with rocketing inflation.
The World Food Programme has described the situation as “dire”. Zimbabwe is the third country in the region to declare a drought disaster.
Zambia rang the alarm in late February, followed by Malawi in March, as southern Africa tries to respond to the humanitarian needs triggered by the El Niño weather event, which usually occurs every three to five years and leads to drier weather in some places and wetter in others.
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