Urban Household Survival and Resilience to Food Insecurity in Crisis Conditions: The Case of Epworth in Harare, Zimbabwe

Empowering Freetown’s women farmers

“…Increasing proportions of the urban population in developing countries lack access to rural resources and, as such, need to find ways to create sustainable livelihoods from within cities (Mougeot, 2005). Agricultural intensification and diversification are key strategies for many households to supplement food and generate income (Scoones, 1998;Tawodzera, 2012). The following sections will discuss how UPA plays a significant role in the generation of livelihoods for households.…”

“…326). Having multiple food and income strategies, being creative and resourceful, maintaining links with rural areas and receiving international remittances, all help to generate sustainable livelihoods (Tawodzera, 2012). Increasing proportions of the urban population in developing countries lack access to rural resources and, as such, need to find ways to create sustainable livelihoods from within cities (Mougeot, 2005).…”

Tax Collection Constraints, and Tax Burden on the Urban Informal Sector Enterprises: Evidence from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

“…The informal sector slowly increased in size in the 1980s and 1990s (Tawodzera, 2012;Schneider & Enste, 2000) and its growth has flummoxed the government that need to collect tax from the sector yet they are clueless on how to do it since they never expected the sector to be a major source of employment in the long term. However, the hyperinflation that set in between 2000and 2008(Sikwila, 2013 saw an increase in the informal sector.…”

“…The closure of companies left a large number of workers with little alternative, but to enter into the informal sector. The closures of companies in the formal sector following Economic Structural Adjustment program (Magure, 2014;Tawodzera, 2012) and the subsequent build-up of the underground economy implied a reduced revenue collection base for the government leading to poor delivery of public goods and services. It is against this background and context that the government sought to expand its tax base by including the poor informal sector in the tax group (presumptive tax Act Chapter 23:06).…”

“…Despite the large size of the informal sector in Zimbabwe compared to the formal sector (Potts, 2000), its recognition as the largest employer has received little respect from the city authorities and government. Most often the authorities run battles (Tawodzera, 2012) with the informal sector in an effort to remove them from the central business district. We deal with a specific urban area in Zimbabwe that was once the hub of formal business activity, but has since been reduced largely to an informal sector with respect to employment, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.…”