Zimbabweans in the diaspora are crucial to preventing a meltdown of Zimbabwe’s economy. It is estimated that more than US$1-billion finds its way into Zimbabwe each year, sent in as hard currency by nationals living abroad, principally in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
About US$500-million of this arrives via Zimbabweans now living in South Africa. As professionals continue to move out and more remittances come in, this figure is rising. Most of the money — in rands or US dollars — leaves South Africa informally, via taxi and bus services, traders and friends.
If adversity is the mother of invention, Zimbabweans in the diaspora — from Johannesburg to London — have found ingenious ways to get everything from baked beans to beauty-treatment vouchers back home to family and friends whose access to goods and services is paralysed by hyperinflation.
For the basic necessities, there are buses that leave at 3pm each week day from a bustling depot at Park Station in Johannesburg’s CBD, carrying “Big Five” bags stuffed with groceries, toiletries and money — rands, not Zim dollars.
For the internet savvy who can afford to pay for goods in British pounds, online shopping has taken off in a big way. United Kingdom-based sites such as Mukuru.com, ZimCargo.co.uk and YesZim.com have made it easy for Zimbabweans in Europe and other parts of the world to send money, groceries and even fuel home.
These sites offer a range of goods and services, from the basic to the extravagant. At YesZim.com, online shoppers can pay in advance for their friends back home to have a meal at a restaurant in Harare.
The Sitar, noted for its “fine Indian dining”, costs £8,50 per person. On payment, a voucher number is SMSed to the payer’s cellphone, with instructions to give it to the maître d’ on arrival. Bon appÃ