Ruralisation is the new trend

In most countries the problem is how to deal with the pressures of rural-urban migration; in Zimbabwe the opposite is the case as city folk head to the countryside to escape the rocketing cost of living. The government's three-month urban cleanup campaign, Operation Murambatsvina ('Drive out filth'), bulldozed houses and market stalls deemed "illegal structures" last year, affecting over 700,000 people. As a result of the mass demolitions, the cost of rentals in the working-class suburbs of the capital, Harare, shot up. But it is not just the price of accomodation; with an inflation rate of 1,200 percent, most people struggle to make ends meet, even those lucky enough to be in formal employment. For a growing number of Zimbabweans the solution seems to be to try and make a fresh start in the rural areas, where life is cheaper. Tsitsi Moyo used to live in the high-density suburb of Kambuzuma, and earned a living selling fruit and vegetables. "I had bought a piece of land under a council-sanctioned housing scheme and managed to build a house for myself and my three children," she told IRIN. But it was deemed illegal by the local authorities and in May last year it was demolished. "As a widow, life was already difficult for me, but when my house was brought down, I realised that I would not be able to fend for myself and my children. A friend advised me to buy a piece of land in the rural areas just outside Harare." Moyo relocated to Matope village in Goromonzi district, 50km northeast of Harare. A year later she has set herself up with a patch of land and a vegetable garden, and two moderately sized huts that serve as a cooking and living area, and bedrooms. With her children attending a school in the village, she is able to concentrate on her new source of income as a cross-border trader. She buys groceries in South Africa, Zambia and Botswana for resale in Zimbabwe, where they are either unavailable or too expensive. It has been difficult for Tsitsi and her children to adjust to a new life in the village, but she has found it much cheaper: fresh vegetables are plentiful and meat is affordable. She does not feel alone in her new rural home. "There are thousands of people who have moved into this place from Harare since last year. We have naturally tended to stick together because we sense the locals are not comfortable with our presence here," and "some of the people who now live here have respectable jobs in Harare but prefer to live here, as they don't have to pay rentals". But all is not well with her rural neighbours. Thomas Matope, headman of Matope village, admitted there were tensions between the "foreigners" and the community. "Thousands of people from Harare have settled in the district and this is causing a clash of cultures. Since they started settling in our district, we have seen an increase in cases of theft, prostitution and public violence." Many of the new arrivals have built homes, but do not farm. "It is easy to lay the blame on the new settlers because they don't have land on which to grow vegetables and raise chickens and goats, and I suspect they are responsible for the thefts that we are experiencing." The village heads in the district had met and agreed that they should stop accepting people from Harare wishing to settle in the area. "There is a general feeling now that these people, who are used to making a quick buck, could encourage the growth of criminal activities, especially stock-theft," Matope said. "We also have sacred shrines, like some mountains and wetlands, where people are not supposed to set foot, but some of these new settlers are growing vegetables on the wetlands, something that locals would not do," he commented. But Lovemore Mutawara, who doubles as a welder and carpenter at a local business centre, said while there were some bad apples among the new arrivals, he had benefited from the influx of people from the city. "My wife runs a thriving garden and receives a lot of support from the new settlers, who buy vegetables from her. As a welder and carpenter they have hired me several times to do some jobs for them - some of them are employed people and commute to Harare every day, and they have put some money in circulation."