"Zimbabwe\u2019s Economy Crashed \u2013 So How Do Citizens Still Cling To Myths Of Urban And Economic Success?"

" Zimbabwe\u2019s Economy Crashed \u2013 So How Do Citizens Still Cling To Myths Of Urban And Economic\u00a0Success? \r\n\r\nIt is common for nations to have myths, or narratives, that form the basis of their\u00a0 nationalism , or their ideas of themselves as a political community. Such popular narratives are often rooted in a romanticised or idealised view of the past. This is certainly the case in Zimbabwe, where national myths about its urban modernity and economic exceptionalism have stood the test of time in contrast with the reality.\r\n\r\nThe idea of urban modernity has its roots in colonial times. At the time of independence in 1980, following a liberation war\u00a0 from 1965 to 1979 , Zimbabwe\u2019s economy was looking strong. Urban residents, especially, could think of themselves as modern: they had middle- and working-class lifestyles, social protection, social mobility opportunities and fixed working hours. Urban modernity meant order, steady employment, education.\r\n\r\nZimbabwe\u2019s economy was exceptional in sub-Saharan Africa:\u00a0 diversified and robust .\r\n\r\nHowever, rapid socio-economic changes followed in the 1990s and 2000s. Zimbabwe was hit by a series of\u00a0 economic, financial and political crises . This led to the collapse of urban middle- and working-class modernity and the rise of visible\u00a0 informal economic activities \u00a0in the urban space. By 2004,\u00a0 over 80% of people \u00a0had informal livelihoods in Zimbabwe.\r\n\r\nMy\u00a0 PhD thesis \u00a0(2021) examined Harare\u2019s shift to informality and the impact of this on people\u2019s everyday experiences of citizenship. The respondents in interviews carried out between 2016 and 2018 included vendors, cross-border traders, manufacturers, residents\u2019 associations, informal sector organisations, local authorities and urban planners.\r\n\r\nThese interviews also form the basis of my recent\u00a0 research paper . My analysis sought to examine how people deal with the fact that current circumstances don\u2019t support their myths of urban nationalism.\r\n\r\nDuring a crisis, people rethink old ideas and adjust them to fit their new situation. As they do this, their notions of urban modernity and economic exceptionalism change. At the same time, they remember a past when their country was economically successful. This memory shapes how they think about the country\u2019s future - and it also makes them question the government, which hasn\u2019t lived up to those past ideals.\r\n\r\nSo, what do the myths of urban modernity and economic exceptionalism mean in Zimbabwe today? Some people cling to the early postcolonial notions nurtured by the government. Others reluctantly accept economic informality while seeking to upgrade the idea of the informal sector. But there are others who challenge altogether the view that street vending is not modern and formal enough.\r\n\r\nThe prevalent informality was seen as a temporary phenomenon which would end soon. Then the country would return to having a modern urban lifestyle and strong economy.\r\n\r\n Grappling with informality \r\n\r\nTo many of the respondents in 2016-2018, \u201cworking\u201d and \u201chaving a job\u201d meant being employed and having regular wages, job security and social protection.\r\n\r\nAt the same time, people also reluctantly accepted economic informality and some of the changes it made to their lives, while seeking to upgrade the idea of the informal sector. Some informal sector associations, for example, attempted to teach their members to see their activities as businesses and themselves as business people, as I reported in another\u00a0 paper .\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nSome respondents drew a line between economic activities that were acceptable in the city centre and those that were not. These were similar to the early postcolonial notions enforced by the government. They suggested, for example, that street vending had no place in the city centre. It should only occur in limited designated spaces, and in residential areas.\r\n\r\nSome street vendors, though, defied the notion of street vending not being modern and formal enough. They dressed smartly to emphasise that street vending could also be done in a \u201cmodern\u201d way and be a part of the mainstream economy.\r\n\r\n The history of the urban modernity myth \r\n\r\nAt the beginning of colonial rule in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the colonisers planned for the\u00a0 cities \u00a0to\u00a0 remain \u201cwhite\u201d . Unless Africans lived in their employers\u2019 facilities, they were required to live in\u00a0 dedicated areas .\r\n\r\nAt the same time, the colonial administration introduced and enforced the concept of \u201c order \u201d in Salisbury, now Harare, the capital. It punished\u00a0 poor, marginalised and homeless people . The same with economic and social activities it deemed undesirable.\r\n\r\nToday,\u00a0 over 32% \u00a0of Zimbabweans live in urban areas.\r\n\r\nThe establishment in the 1930s of the\u00a0 African middle class \u00a0was an important part of the urban modernity project. Those who sought to belong to it largely used education as their primary social mobility tool.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nAfter independence \u00a0in 1980, the cities were\u00a0 deracialised . Everyone was free to enter and use the urban space. But the new government still\u00a0 held tight control \u00a0and dictated who had the right to the city.\r\n\r\n Numerous operations \u00a0were conducted from the 1980s to clear the street of \u201cundesirable\u201d people and activities.\u00a0 For example , informal settlements were removed. Many\u00a0 women \u00a0were arrested on the pretext of clearing the city of prostitution. The most notorious clean-up operation was the\u00a0 2005 Operation Murambatsvina . It effectively punished all those considered \u201c unproductive \u201d and not deserving to be in the city.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThose high and, frankly, brutal standards of urban modernity have a long history in Zimbabwe and became a part of its urban nationalism.\r\n\r\n Economic exceptionalism \r\n\r\nColonial and early postcolonial Zimbabwe had an exceptional and\u00a0 diversified \u00a0economy with strong mining, agricultural, and industrial sectors. Zimbabwe\u2019s manufacturing sector contributed\u00a0 25% to GDP by 1974 .\r\n\r\nDespite the economic decline, it is still a common narrative that Zimbabwe\u2019s industrial sector was\u00a0 second only \u00a0to South Africa\u2019s in sub-Saharan Africa and that Zimbabwe was \u201cthe breadbasket\u201d of\u00a0 Africa .\r\n\r\nHowever,\u00a0 manufacturing in colonial Zimbabwe \u00a0benefited a small number of white industrialists. Black Zimbabweans did not have the\u00a0 opportunities . They\u00a0 could not own profitable manufacturing businesses or access finance .\r\n\r\nAfter independence, the government made\u00a0 considerable efforts \u00a0to deracialise the economy and public services.\r\n\r\n The present \r\n\r\nThe early postcolonial ideas about urban modernity and economic exceptionalism were severely undermined in Zimbabwe. But people try to give new meanings to these ideas in the changed social and economic circumstances. There is ongoing reluctance to accept that informality altered Zimbabwe for good. And many of my respondents wanted to find ways that the myths of modernity and economic exceptionalism could keep their meaning in the changed circumstances.\r\n\r\nContinuity and change in the myths of urban nationalism also raise the questions of legitimacy. In this case, it is about legitimacy of informal economic practices and legitimacy of the government that did not uphold the myths.\r\n\r\nIdeas can be very powerful in explaining people\u2019s understanding of the political community they belong to. And when such ideals cannot be upheld, people will find new meanings in their material reality that let them hold on to old ideas or reinterpret them."

"Zimbabwe\u2019s Economy Crashed \u2013 So How Do Citizens Still Cling To Myths Of Urban And Economic Success?"

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