Escaping Vene Vayo Doom? Zimbabweans in new rush to UK; Harare Govt says nothing new – ‘Brits also came here in their thousands before’

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_*• “There is nothing new in people making what they think is a ‘gold rush’,” said Mangwana.*_

_*• “It happened when Zimbabwe was colonised, people left England and other countries rushing to this country.”*_

“Eunice is now there (UK),” said a Harare mother of two who preferred not to be identified. “A lot of people have since left the country; life is just so difficult now, it’s nearly impossible to survive. I’m also packing up and preparing to leave; _hameno achasara.”_

A story in the Diaspora section of this publication, features some ten Zimbabweans who recently flew to the UK to join a Cumbria-based Care Agency at the same time.

And this is part of what Leeds Becket University PhD migrant labour markets researcher Chris Goshomi has described as a “new wave of movements to the UK, quite akin to that seen around 2007-8″ at the peak of Zimbabwe’s unrelenting economic crisis.

According to Goshomi, of the top 10 labour supplier nations to Britain, Zimbabwe has the smallest population, but very high figures of migrant workers leaving for the UK.

Goshomi identifies ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors behind the migrant movements; in the latter case, the UK’s labour shortages after leaving the European Union (Brexit) while the ‘push’ factors include Zimbabwe’s economic collapse which started under former and long-time ruler Robert Mugabe.

His successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, insists the country’s economic turnaround is on course and that Zimbabwe is set to achieve its vision of becoming an Upper Middle Income economy by 2030.

Mnangagwa touts a new developmental ideology of ‘nyika inovakwa nevene vayo’; loosely meaning that a country can only be built by its native people; an idea that is in apparent reference to the country’s isolation from western financial support.

Could Zimbabweans however, be demonstrating their lack of confidence in Mnangagwa and his economic policies by grabbing their passports and running to the exit borders?

*Nothing new; whites also came here before*

Information ministry permanent secretary and government spokesperson Nick Mangwana said the migration upswing is down to ‘pull factors’ than ‘push conditions’.

“The departure of people particularly to the UK is a result of perceived opportunities there since the UK Govt is offering a more relaxed Visa Requirement Regime than it was a doing a few years ago for those who want to be carers,” Mangwana told NewZimbabwe.com.

In any event, Mangwana added, there is nothing new in people making what they perceive as a gold rush, given that the British themselves moved, uninvited and in their thousands, to Zimbabwe as part of imperial colonialism.

“There is nothing new in people making what they think is a ‘gold rush’,” he said.

“It happened when Zimbabwe was colonised, people left England and other countries rushing to this country.

“It happened during the Wenera Days and it also happened during the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. It’s not a phenomenon known only to Zimbabwe.”

Mangwana rejected off-hand any suggestion that Zimbabweans were voting on the Government’s economic policies by trooping to the country’s border posts and exit airports.

“We are building Zimbabwe brick by brick. It means our edifice is not yet complete. In terms of current National Vision, we still have another 7-8 years to 2030 where we expect to be an Upper Middle Income country,” he said.

“The UK is already classified as a High Income Status Country. Naturally people move from a country with a lower income status to one with a Higher Income status when such opportunities arise.

“That is not an indictment of our Economic Policies as already we have moved into the Lower Middle Income country bracket according to the World Bank.

“It shows our policies are moving us to our desired goal of being an Upper Middle Income country by 2030 and there are those who prefer to get to the finished project, both are within their rights.”

*More woe than gold in the UK*

The new wave of departures is also coming ahead of crunch general elections which – yet again – pit Mnangagwa against relatively youthful opposition leader Nelson Chamisa.

Are Zimbabweans not convinced by Chamisa’s assurances that he will win the elections and usher a new era of prosperity, democracy and peace?

Said political analyst Alexander Rusero to German-based news agency Deutsche Welle (DW), “In Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular, we have not reached a stage where an election really matters in terms of changing the livelihoods, seeking an alternative that will fulfill their aspirations.

“This is simply an election which is meant to legitimize Mnangagwa’s dominance, continued rule of Zimbabwe.”

However, the flight to the UK can be fraught with more woe than gold.

Many have found themselves in exploitative contracts with health and social care agencies where they work long hours, are refused off days and get paid well below the statutory minimum wage.

Said Leeds-based researcher Goshomi; “discrimination in the workplace and in the community is a huge problem despite all the efforts by the government to address it.

“Also, access to accommodation is a major challenge; estate agents require credit rating and local reference for previous tenancies. In most cases due to wage levels and affordability test challenges, you require guarantors, which are hard to come by for new settlers.

“This results in some people being forced into hot-bedding, where people work alternate shifts that allow them to use the same bed. Some use it during the day when the other ones have gone on night shifts, and they swap again when the shift changes.

A recent report by cited by The Guardian newspaper talked of 20-hour shifts for £3.50 an hour (national minimum wage is £9.50), racism and sexual abuse.

“Many work long hours but are only paid for between 6-8 hours and the rest of the hours of travel from client to client are not considered in domiciliary care, meanwhile they are already at lowest level of the minimum wage bracket,” said Goshomi.

However, UK-based Zimbabwean lawyer, Tapfumanei Nyawanza, said people in such situations had a number of options, including;

1. Leave the job as soon as you are able to. There are plenty of options once you are actually in the UK; it’s really a matter of just looking around, and no-one is bound to an employer, least of all, an abusive one;
2. Raise a formal grievance. Every organisation has, or should have, a written Grievance Procedure. Follow the steps in there, and if that does not resolve the situation, go to 3,
3. Take the matter to the Employment Tribunal. Approach the local Law Centres or Citizens Advice Bureau if you cannot afford a lawyer.
4. Join GMB, the Trade Union for carers. _*NewZimbabwe*_