Zimbabwe is headed in the wrong direction economically with 48 percent of the citizens going without enough food while some go without cash for days, pointing to high poverty levels, a recent Afrobarometer survey indicates.
Afrobarometer is a survey research network that provides data on Africans’ experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life.
A national partner in each country conducts the survey and in Zimbabwe, the Afrobarometer surveys are conducted by the Mass Public Opinion Institute (MPOI).
“Almost three-quarters (72%) of citizens say the country is going in the wrong direction,” reads the survey findings.
“The view that the country is heading in the wrong direction is most pronounced among citizens with high lived poverty (87%). Nearly eight in 10 citizens (78%) rate the country’s economic condition as either “fairly bad” or “very bad,” while 64% describe their personal living conditions in the same way.”
According to the survey, nearly half (48%) of citizens report that they went without enough food “several times,” “many times,” or “always” during the previous year.
“A majority (53%) say they went without enough clean water at least several times,” says the report.
“A great majority (88%) report that they went without a cash income at least several times. Management of the economy (cited by 45% of respondents) and unemployment (43%) are the most important problems that Zimbabweans want their government to address.”
The report adds: “About three in ten (29%) citizens want the government to address the problem of infrastructure and roads. By large majorities, Zimbabweans say the government is performing “fairly badly” or “very badly” on key economic issues, including keeping prices stable (87%), creating jobs (86%) and narrowing gaps between rich and poor (79%)”
