This report summarizes the results of the fourth and final round of interviews carried out among informal sector women traders in Harare, Zimbabwe as part of a longitudinal study of their conditions of work and livelihood in the context of economic crisis and structural adjustment.

This book seeks to explore how the Zimbabwean society and its institutions have survived if not succumbed to continuous economic crises in the country. From the 1990s Zimbabwe experienced a sustained economic decline challenged by both internal and external strains. Coupled with internal mis-governance and corruption, the nation plunged into a political and economic crisis which culminated in the second highest world inflation rate for an economy that is not at war. In the face of the harsh and continuously deteriorating economic environments, Zimbabweans as individuals as well as part of institutions adopted various strategies to negotiate and survive the economic scourge. Contributors include Wellington Bamu, Nathaniel Chimhete, Anusa Daimon, Innocent Dande, Sylvester Dombo, Tinotenda Dube, Rudo Gaidzanwa, Tafara Evelyn Kombora, Ushehwedu Kufakurinani, Bernard Kusena, Eric Kushinga Makombe, Albert Makochekanwa, Blessed Masawi, Ivo Mhike, Joseph P. Mtisi, Joseph Mujere, Wesley Mwatwara, Pius S. Nyambara, Tinashe Nyamunda, Mark Nyandoro, Takesure Taringana and Nicola Yon (Mutimurefu).

While increasing attention is being paid to the drivers and forms of entrepreneurship in informal economies, much less of this policy and research focus is directed at understanding the links between mobility and informality. This report examines the current state of knowledge about this relationship with particular reference to three countries (Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe) and four cities (Cape Town, Harare, Johannesburg and Maputo), identifying major themes, knowledge gaps, research questions and policy implications.

This vast dictionary launches the new series, Historical Dictionaries of Women in the World, and fills a huge gap in the literature, as there previously has not been any comprehensive reference work on African women. This dictionary includes over 660 entries on notable women in history, politics, religion, the arts, and other sectors; on events particularly associated with women; on women's organizations and publications; and on a range of topics that are important to women in general or that have a special importance for African women, including marriage, fertility, market women, goddesses, and much more. Entries include cross-referencing information that facilitates readers' ability to find related information. The book also includes an introductory essay and a chronology on African women's history, as well as an extensive bibliography divided into sub-sections on different historical eras and subjects. Access to finding specific information is further aided by a country index. A wide range of users will find this reference extremely valuable, including researchers in African or women's history, high school and university students, and people involved with African policy and development issues such as diplomats or aid workers.

Arguably, one of the most polarising figures in modern times has been Robert Gabriel Mugabe, the former President of the Republic of Zimbabwe. The mere mentioning of his name raises a lot of debate and often times vicious, if not irreconcilable differences, both in Zimbabwe and beyond. In an article titled: ‘Lessons of Zimbabwe’, Mahmood Mamdani succinctly captures the polarity thus: ‘It is hard to think of a figure more reviled in the West than Robert Mugabe… and his land reform measures, however harsh, have won him considerable popularity, not just in Zimbabwe but throughout southern Africa.’ This, together with his recent ‘stylised’ ouster, speaks volumes to his conflicted legacy. The divided opinion on Mugabe’s legacy can broadly be represented, first, by those who consider him as a champion of African liberation, a Pan-Africanist, an unmatched revolutionary and an avid anti-imperialist who, literally, ‘spoke the truth’ to Western imperialists. On the other end of the spectrum are those who – seemingly paying scant regard to the predicament of millions of black Zimbabweans brutally dispossessed of their land and human dignity since the Rhodesian days – have differentially characterised Mugabe as a rabid black fascist, an anti-white racist, an oppressor, and a dictator. Drawing on all these opinions and characterisations, the chapters ensconced in this volume critically reflect on the personality, leadership style and contributions of Robert Mugabe during his time in office, from 1980 to November 2017. The volume is timely in view of the current contested transition in Zimbabwe, and with regard to the ongoing consultations on the Land Question in neighbouring South Africa. It is a handy and richly documented text for students and practitioners in political science, African studies, economics, policy studies, development studies, and global studies.

The World Bank insists that the urban share of sub-Saharan Africa's population is rapidly increasing - this study shows that in many countries this is no longer true as migration strategies have adapted in response to economic andpolitical change. Circular migration, whereby rural migrants do not remain permanently in town, has particular significance in the academic literature on development and urbanization in Africa, often having negative connotations in southern Africanist studies due to its links with an iniquitous migrant labour system. Literature on other African regions often views circular migration more positively. This book reviews the current evidence about circular migration and urbanization in sub-Saharan Africa. The author challenges the dominant view that rural-urban migration continues unabated and shows that circular migration has continued and has adapted, with faster out-migration in the face of decliningurban economic opportunities. The empirical core of the book illustrates these trends through a detailed examination of the case of Zimbabwe based on the author's longstanding research on Harare. The political and economic changes in Zimbabwe since the 1980s transformed Harare from one of the best African cities to live in over this period to one of the worst. Harare citizens' livelihoods exemplify, in microcosm, the central theme of the book: the re-invention of circulation and rural-urban links in response to economic change. Deborah Potts is a Senior Lecturer in the Geography Department of King's College London. She works in the broad research field of urbanization and migration in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly southern Africa and has conducted research on these themes in Harare in Zimbabwe since 1985. Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia) and Zimbabwe: University of Cape Town Press (PB)

Since the introduction of the fast track land reform programme in 2000, Zimbabwe has undergone major economic and political shifts and these have had a profound impact on both urban and rural livelihoods. This book provides rich empirical studies that examine a range of multi-faceted and contested livelihoods within the context of systemic crises. Taking a broad political economy approach, the chapters advance a grounded and in-depth understanding of emerging and shifting livelihood processes, strategies and resilience that foregrounds agency at household level. Highlighting an emergent scholarship amongst young black scholars in Zimbabwe, and providing an understanding of how people and communities respond to socio-economic challenges, this book is an important read for scholars of African political economy, southern African studies and livelihoods.

This title explores the urgent and often overlooked issue of social protection for migrant workers, focusing on Africa's rapidly evolving migration landscape. As international labour migration continues to surge due to both push and pull factors, this book delves into the social protection deficits experienced by three key migrant groups: high-skilled professionals, informal economy workers, and those impacted by climate change. Organised into 15 insightful chapters, the book offers a cross-disciplinary examination of these challenges, drawing on perspectives from law, economics, social development, and environmental studies. By highlighting the limited access to social security benefits faced by these groups, it presents a compelling case for the need for robust policy interventions. This authoritative volume not only fills a critical gap in this research but also serves as a vital resource for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners dedicated to improving the welfare and security of migrants in Africa and beyond.

This book adds to the research of urban informality in the Global South with a specific focus on South Africa and Zimbabwe. It addresses the agency and the potential transformative capacity of the phenomenon of urban informality in connection with Southern African cities and towns. It adopts a political economy approach to analyse the evolution of informality in cities and its implications for urban planning. It brings to bear how the South African and Zimbabwean historical and/or ideological and contemporary political and economic trajectories have impacted on the ever changing nature of urban informality, both spatially and structurally and/or compositionally; thus resulting in unique urban materialities, which are aspects that have scarcely been studied or discussed in the extant literature. This book, therefore, seeks to close the academic gap by dealing with the dearth of literature on spatial (re)locational discourses of urban informality. The work positions urban informality as a resilient force with potency in terms of political mobilisation and (re) shaping urban spaces. Though these are fundamental issues, they have received comparatively little attention, especially in literature that focuses on the Southern African region. Accordingly, undergraduate and post-graduate students, as well as academics in the fields of Urban Geography, Political Science, Development Studies, Sociology, Town and Regional Planning among others, will find the range of topics and depth of coverage in this book particularly valuable. Similarly, practitioners and activists on issues of urban informality and urban governance will find the book very useful.