THE small scale fishing business in Kariba has taken a knock owing to the Covid 19 induced lockdown, leaving many families at the mercy of poverty.
Zimbabwe has witnessed a spike in Covid-19 cases, in what many have called the third wave and as a result government has put some districts including Kariba under new localized lockdown measures.
Hotspot towns such as Kariba have been hit hard economically especially because it’s a tourist destination.
Under the lockdown regulations movement has been restricted to only the locals when most of the business comes from outside the town.
This has caused difficulties to female vendors who used to buy their products at Mbare musika in Harare.
Women who survive on vending said that it was now difficult for them to put food on the table for their families as their only source of income has been compromised.
“With these new lockdown measures, I am finding it hard to fend for my family. My only source of income is vending. I have an upper 6 student who is supposed to sit for examinations this year. How am I going to pay for his registration fee,” Lamented one of the vendors.
Last year many families fell into extreme poverty as the nation was under lockdown. According to the World Bank’s Economic and Social update report, almost half of Zimbabwe’s population fell into extreme poverty with children bearing the brunt of the misery.
According to the survey, in July 2020 nearly 500 000 households had one member who had lost his/her job since the onset of the pandemic.
