Zimbabweans can boast some of the highest literacy rates in the region — and possibly the entire continent of Africa.  In just a few decades, starting with only University at Independence, a string of universities has sprung up across Zimbabwe’s provinces, making higher education much more attainable to locals than in years past, when many felt their only real option was to seek higher education in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, among other places. 

But before students can attend university or college, they must pass high school, and primary school before that, and, ideally, pre-school before that.  Early child development (ECD) may be at the bottom of the educational ecosystem, but it lays the foundation for those who train to become the next generation of teachers, doctors, engineers, economists, and other professionals.

Parents play a key role in imparting life skills to their children and advocating for their education, but ultimately they must rely on others to educate their children - and put them on the path to higher education.  This is where early childhood development (ECD) centers come in.  ECD centers are increasingly located in Zimbabwe’s high-density locations, making them accessible to families that may not have the means to buy a motor vehicle.  Parents can walk their children to local ECD centers, which typically accommodate toddlers to those aged 8.  Monthly fees range from $10-$200.

Pre-schools and activities

Pre-schools in Zimbabwe play a pivotal role for these budding learners by preparing them for the first year of formal primary school.  The centers’ general motto is "catch them young.” Children are introduced to a variety of activities, including scribbling, painting, drawing, and molding with dough. Picture reading helps them grasp a narrative and encourages them to form their own story from the pictures.  These and other indoor play activities enhance finger dexterity and foster development of fine motor skills.

Outdoor play, meanwhile, includes physical activities like climbing trees, running, swimming, and riding toy cars.  These physical activities enhance gross motor skills by engaging big muscle movement so that the learners will be physically fit. They also build social skills and confidence by encouraging the children to experiment and discover new things as they play together.  After mastering these activities and concepts, children are prepared for the first grade of primary schools, known as grade one.

Regulation

Any enterprising individual can establish an ECD facility as long they have sufficient resources to provide the learners with a play-and-learn environment. Ideally, facilities have access to swings, jumping castles, toys, and books, among other educational tools.  To ensure high educational standards, many ECD centers follow Maria Montessori's theory of learning.

While there is no official designation of how many centers should exist for a specific population, local demand drives the establishment of new schools.  Many owners convert their homes into ECD centers, which should be registered with the municipal council for health checks.

Creating a successful ECD center 

Successful ECD centers share a number of common elements.  One critical element is qualified educators.  Strong teachers help to maintain good standards and attract parents, which, in turn, helps the center maintain and even expand its enrollment.  For teachers of young children, patience and creativity are particularly important, along with the ability to effectively educate those from a wide range of backgrounds and with diverse learning needs.  Staff with specialized training allows for the accommodation of special-needs children.

Classroom set-up is another important factor.  Ideally, classrooms should be divided into distinct learning areas devoted to reading, science and technology, physical education, drama, music, art, and culture, among others. A typical student-teacher ratio is 20-1, although the social distancing required by Covid-19 has led to a decrease in the ratio.  

Scheduling is also an important consideration.  Working parents often prefer to drop their children off for a full day, so ECD centers generally open early to accommodate early drop-offs.  

Challenges

ECD centers are not without their challenges.  Chronic power outages and shortages in supplies of essential goods, like bread, can disrupt the educational process.  Toys and other play materials may have to be imported from other countries.  And while the Nziramasanga Commission of Inquiry found that every child has a right to education, regardless of income, some children are unable to attend because of their families’ financial constraints.  

Conclusion

While they don’t always receive a lot of attention, ECD centers play a vital role in the educational process and the expansion of Zimbabwe’s professional class.  The skills taught by ECD centers give children a leg up when their parents seek to place them in a primary school, and help instill the importance of education at a young age.  These centers will likely continue to play a pivotal role in Zimbabwe’s educational system.

Mobile phone communication has undeniably penetrated all spheres of Zimbabwean life, be it some remote rural village grandparents, a school teacher, vendor, student or any professional, everyone may already or intends to own a mobile phone. The cost of owning and using a mobile phone varies depending on a few factors.

Mobile communication offers robust flexibility that fixed telephones could not. Zimbabwe previously had a chronic shortage of fixed lines, and those without had to plan a trip in order to access the nearest available telephone.

The launch of government owned Netone and eventually independent owned Econet Wireless meant people had access to wireless mobile technology. Econet leaped ahead to become a dominant player and established its visible brand by opening shops everywhere so people could shop for mobile phones, register and activate them for use. 

Virtually all phones are imported into Zimbabwe, with Chinese brands being the most popularly used by most. High inflation and fluctuating currency plus resale markup make these imports costly. High-end smart phones like those by Apple or Samsung are inherently pricey costing more than what most people make in a year. These high end devices also use a lot of data, whereas most users are content with basic functions like just the ability to do mobile banking, make calls and use the popular WhatsApp chatting app.

Many gadget stores have sprung up all over the country. Often mobile users prefer to source their own device by buying locally or they can import from neighbouring countries or even abroad.

Cost of mobile phone 

The landing cost of bringing phones into the country make their prices invariably higher than in their countries of origin. In most countries users pay for their devices over 12 or 24 months, making an iPhone thats US$1200 payable at $49 a month.

Zimbabwean users generally pay for cash or negotiated credit terms with seller.

Mobile Sim-card

As mobile service was being rolled out all across the country, SIM card demand created scarcity and were consequently exorbitantly priced. Once purchased  the mobile sim-card had to be registered officially using the name and National ID number of the owner.

Today SIM cards are readily available and can be purchased as needed.

Airtime 

As mobile use began gaining traction, users quickly realized cost of regular calls was prohibitive, and limited to how much airtime was refilled. A US$1 top-up, a few years ago gave you about 5 min talk time and US$2 gave you a week of unlimited Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter use . Consequently Whatsapp capable phones became the most sought after. And most users opted for pay as you go plans versus monthly post paid contract plans.

Respina Zishumbe, 68, is a career vendor who operates a small vegetable stall in the Mupedzanhamo market in Mbare, Zimbabwe.  She has never been formally employed, but has managed to raise and send three children - now adults - to school through her vending business.

Zishumbe is part of Zimbabwe’s sprawling informal economy.  In rural and urban centers alike, vendors and street hawkers can be seen traveling from one spot to another on bicycles or using carts, selling an array of wares.  Some set up shops on the sides of busy highways to get the attention of passing traffic, while others have market stalls or informal shops, in both designated or ad hoc locations.  Some even specialize in certain industries, like the mining entrepreneurs who supply small-scale miners with mining supplies, like parts and engines for machinery used in gold mining operations.  

Economists define the informal sector or informal economy as economic activity not included in a nation's gross domestic product data.  Such activity is often not subject to formal contracts, licensing, and taxation. These businesses generally rely on local resources, small-scale operations, and unregulated but competitive markets.  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that Zimbabwe has the world’s second-largest informal economy as a percentage of its total economy, at 60.6%.

THE RISE OF THE INFORMAL ECONOMY

At the start of independence in 1980, Zimbabwe had a relatively small informal economy.  It accounted for less than 10% of the labor force, and coexisted alongside a formal economy that was highly regulated through national policies.  In the intervening years, however, the formal economy has not kept pace with Zimbabwe’s expanding labour force.   

Zimbabwean economy that relied on mining, manufacturing, farming and exports began experiencing a gradual  decline from the mid  90’s. Government controlled companies were some of the first to fall into mismanagement that led to operations grinding to a halt with many of the workforce being laid off. Iconic companies like Zisco Steel in Kwekwe, the national Cold Storage Commission, the Zupco bus company were some good examples of what led to growing unemployment. 

Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, is home to two sizable examples of the informal economy.   Mupedzanhamo, where Respina Zishumbe sells her vegetables, hosts hundreds of other vegetable stalls in the high-density location of Mbare.  The Glen View light manufacturing site, commonly referred to as 'siya soo' in the local language, houses vendors of furniture and other household products. 

Manfred Hove, 56, is a career carpenter by profession.  He worked for several furniture manufacturing companies in Harare industrial sites before he was laid off at the height of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown in 2008.  Hove now operates an informal furniture manufacturing business, High Glen Carpenters, whose flagship product is the “Merlin” range of lounge suites and sofas. He proudly employs five trainee carpenters in his business, many of whom have acquired carpentry skills through on-the-job training. Like most other informal businesses, Hove pays no corporate or payroll taxes, other than the council shop license fee.

On Harare’s prime First Street in downtown, meanwhile, vendors have become a regular fixture - not only on side streets, but sometimes brazenly setting up shop in front of big name retail stores like OKs, Bata, or even Greatermans.  Sidewalks have been converted into open markets. 

 The scene is typical of many locations or suburbs, where makeshift stores supply basics like bread, milk or sugar. These kiosks - typically staffed by one person through an opening and colloquially known as tuckshops —save customers a trip to the regular shopping centers by serving the same basic items found in a grocery store or other retailer.  

Beauty Ribeiro lives in Harare with her husband, a military officer.  She runs a market stall in the downtown area selling mainly children’s clothing.  Because she is self employed, she sets her own hours and selects the merchandise she wants to sell.

On every street, market or some part of the country in Zimbabwe, there is a transaction going on, and currency (money), is the common denominator used to exchange for goods and services.

Somewhere in a store, in a mall or departmental store, a shopper will be using cash or credit card to pay for their goods. Street vendors trying to eke out a living, hustle for business and are eagerly expectant to accept cash for their wares, which can be anything from vegetables, leather goods, to electronic gadgets. Workers are seen driving to work, walking or catching a lift with the expectation at the end of week or month, they will receive some type of compensation, in exchange for their time, skill and labor, currency being the prime motivation for work.

Before there were honking taxis, cars and trucks roaring on he roads of this Southern African country, the nation was under the Monomotapa empire, where barter trade was the primary means of settling financial transactions and robust trade existed with Portuguese traders (History Today, Volume 38, Issue 8, August 1988). Pottery, gold coins, salt, various forms of livestock and crops, all constituted barter trade commodities. 

Inevitable transformation to way of life is it was came with colonization by the British in 1890. The pound was the currency of Southern Rhodesia from 1965 until 1970. The Rhodesian dollar (R$), was the currency of Rhodesia from 1970 until 1980. It was subdivided into 100 cents. The dollar was introduced on 17 February 1970. It replaced the pound at a rate of $2 to 1 pound (2:1). It was a strong, stable currency throughout its history. 

The Rhodesian labor force, fared reasonably well  in the UDI era, with meaningful wages being earned by workers. Black Africans were typically employed as general hands in industry, construction and agriculture, the rural based ones, pursuing subsistence agriculture.

At Independence in 1980 the Zimbabwean dollar was introduced at par (1:1) with the US dollar. According to Joseph Muzuva, born in 1947 who was employed as a policeman in the now Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), at the rank of Inspector and married to his stay at home wife, Mariana, he was was earning ZW $ 110 as net salary after deductions. With this salary, that peaked at ZW $256 net salary, by the time of my pensionable service retirement in 1992, he was able to send my three children to group A schools, and settle his10 year Central Africa Building Society (CABS) mortgage for my his bedrooms in Mabelreign (Harare, Zimbabwe), property with relative ease.