No Place for ‘Undesirables’: The Urban Poor’s Struggle for Survival in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, 1960-2005. By Busani Mpofu A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Edinburgh June 2010 Declaration I declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is my own and has been generated by me as the result of my own original research. Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed. This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University and some points were initially raised in my BA special honors dissertation on Bulawayo. Signed:……………………B. Mpofu……………………………. Date:…………………07 June 2010…………………………………. ii No Place for ‘Undesirables’: The Urban Poor’s Struggle for Survival in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, 1960-2005. Abstract This thesis studies the social history of the poor in Bulawayo, the second largest city in Zimbabwe, between 1960 and 2005. This is accomplished by focusing on the housing and unemployment crises they faced and the manifest reluctance of authorities to either provide enough housing or to accept mushrooming informal housing and economic activities in response to these acute shortages. I attempt to highlight the fragility of the poor’s claim to the right to permanent urban residency emphasizing inadequate state funding and poverty and continuities in some discourses from colonial to the post colonial era as factors responsible for spreading and sustaining the discrimination against low income earners in the city. These included authorities’ perceptions that all Africans belonged to rural areas, have access to land, and that low income Africans were immoral and unclean. While these perceptions tended to be fuelled by the racial divide between whites and blacks during the colonial period, class and gender dynamics among Africans crisscrossed that racial divide. After independence, while these perceptions were still alive, central government policy ambitions and failures were instrumental in influencing the welfare and fate of the urban masses and their relations with the former middle class Africans and nationalist leaders who assumed power in 1980. It becomes clear that there was a misunderstanding by authorities on how most of the rural land was not able to support some families because of infertility or lack of resources to successfully till the land by most some families. The overall conclusion is that poor people’s rights to permanent residency were elusive up to 2005 and their living and survival space has been continuing to shrink in the city. iii Acknowledgements I am very much indebted to the University of Edinburgh sponsored Southern African Scholarship which funded my study at the University of Edinburgh between 2006 and 2010. The scholarship also gave me a bursary during the last year to assist in my thesis write-up. My air fares to Edinburgh were provided by Cannon Collins Trust through a Travel scholarship. The School of History, Classics and Archaeology at Edinburgh provided me with a maintenance grant between 2006 and 2007. The Jenny Balston Scholarship provided me with a maintenance grant between 2007 and 2009. My research trip in 2007 was partly funded by the Martin Lynn Scholarship and Newby Trust and the Jenny Balston Scholarship covered most of my research activities after that. I am also indebted to the School of History, Classics and Archaeology for the excellent facilities and support they rendered to me. My special thanks go to Professors Jill Stephenson and Frank Cogliano. Richard Kane at the PG office has been fantastic. In Zimbabwe, many people were helpful during the fieldwork research process. I am indebted to Mr. Mdluli and Mrs Mabhena, the Librarians at the Bulawayo Municipal Library Archives and Bulawayo Historic Reference Libraries respectively. Mr. Mdluli went to the extent of organising some office space for me which I used during my research sessions. My thanks also go to the Bulawayo City Council which allowed me to access their files in the Municipal Library. The staff at the National Archives of Zimbabwe also did their best during one of the very difficult times in 2007/2008. Admire Mseba, Brian Ngwenya and Glen Ncube also helped a lot. Some parts of this work were discussed with Glen Ncube who provided very constructive criticism. I also want to thank Professor Jocelyn Alexander for her opinion on parts of this work. Professor Paul Nugent and Dr. Francesca Locatelli supervised me in 2006/2007. Their views extended and challenged my thinking on problems and themes associated with African urbanisation. Their encouragement lifted me up always. From 2007 Dr. Locatelli and Dr. Sara Dorman supervised me. I thank all for their encouraging, helpful and patient guidance at various stages of this work. iv Contents Declaration ii Abstract iii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents v Detailed Table of Contents vi-vii List of Tables viii List of Maps and Figures ix List of Acronyms x-xi List of Appendices xii Glossary of Zimbabwean Specific Terms xvi Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Unemployment and Housing Crises in Bulawayo before 1960: 28 Chapter 2 State Response to Unemployment and Poverty during the “Turbulent Years”, 1960-1980 56 Chapter 3 Increasing Unemployment, Poverty and Informality during the Turbulent Years 92 Chapter 4 Low Income Earners and the Housing Crisis during the Turbulent Years; 1960 to 1980 120 Chapter 5 The Poor and the Housing Crisis after Independence 152 Chapter 6 Worsening Unemployment, the Poor and Informality after Independence 200 Chapter 7 The Urban Poor and the ‘Curse’ of the Two ‘Operations’ in 2005 238 Thesis Conclusion 282 Bibliography 295 v Table of Contents Introduction 1 The Socio-Economic Development of the city of Bulawayo 1 Studying the Social History of Bulawayo and Poverty 7 Research Methods 22 Thesis Outline 25 Chapter 1 Unemployment and Housing Crises in Bulawayo before 1960 28 1.1 The Influx of Migrants and the Urban Crisis in Bulawayo 28 1.2 Struggles over the Provision of Housing to Africans before 1960 43 1.3 Increasing African Demands for Security of Tenure in Urban Areas 50 1.4 Conclusion 54 Chapter 2 State Response to Unemployment and Poverty during the Turbulent Years, 1960-1980 56 2.1 Radicalising African Nationalism and the Unsettled White Politics 56 2.2 The Build-up to the Enactment of the Vagrancy Act and its Operation in Bulawayo 58 2.3 Unemployment, Low Wages, Poverty and the Failure of Influx Control Measures in Bulawayo after 1960 69 2.4 African Wages and Productivity Debate: How to Stabilise the Urban African Community 79 2.5 Poverty and the African Population Explosion Debate 84 2.6 The 1970s: A Decade of Denial of the Existence of African Unemployment in Rhodesia 87 2.7 Conclusion 91 Chapter 3 Increasing Unemployment, Poverty and Informality during the Turbulent Years 92 3.1 Problems Associated with Urban Informality and the Poor in Bulawayo 92 3.2 The African Advisory Board and the Welfare of Africans in Bulawayo 109 3.3 Conclusion 118 Chapter 4 Low Income Earners and the Housing Crisis during the Turbulent Years; 1960 to 1980 120 4.1 Population Influx and Pressure on Low Income Housing 120 4.2 Discriminatory African Home Ownership Schemes in Bulawayo 124 4.3 Complications in Funding Low Income Housing in Bulawayo 138 4.4 Fears and Effects of the Housing Crisis 142 4.5 Conclusion 150 Chapter 5 vi The Poor and Low Cost Housing Crisis after Independence 152 5.1 Bulawayo, National Politics and the Question of Lack of Industrial Development after 1980 152 5.2 Background of the Poor in Bulawayo after 1980 156 5.3 The Urban Poor and SAPs in Bulawayo 168 5.4 National Housing Policy in Post-Colonial Zimbabwe 172 5.5 The Birth of and Conflict between the Council and National Building Brigades 177 5.6 Conversion from Rental Housing to Home Ownership Status 181 5.7 The Council/Central Government Struggle over Beer Profits 183 5.8 Private Sector Initiatives in the Provision of Low Income Housing 185 5.9 Limitations of the Housing Waiting List Figures and the Severity of the Housing Crisis in Bulawayo since 1980 187 5.10 Other Constraints in the Provision of Low Income Housing 194 5.11 Response to the Shortage of Accommodation in Townships 196 5.12 Conclusion 198 Chapter 6 Worsening Unemployment, the Poor and Informality after Independence 200 6.1 Worsening Economic Problems after Independence 200 6.2 Vending as a Coping Mechanism 207 6.3 Urban Agriculture as a Coping Mechanism 214 6.4 The Politics of Shebeening and Prostitution as Coping Mechanisms 220 6.5 Relocating to Rural Areas as a Coping Strategy 228 6.6 Other Coping Mechanisms 231 6.7 Conclusion 237 Chapter 7 The Urban Poor and the ‘Curse’ of the Two ‘Operations’ in 2005 238 7.1 Towards the Urban Crisis in 2005: A Shattered Economy and Desperado Politics 238 7.2 Possible Reasons behind Operation Murambatsvina vis-a-vis the Poor in Urban Areas 243 7.3 Effects of Operation Murambatsvina on the Urban Poor in Bulawayo 252 7.4 Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle: A Reconstruction Programme for the Urban Poor in Bulawayo? 259 7.5 Conclusion 280 Thesis Conclusion 282 Bibliography 295 vii List of Tables Table 1: Estimated African population in Bulawayo, 1946-1975. 36 Table 2: Registered African workers who found jobs during the first 4 weekly periods in 1963 75 Table 3: Total number of houses built in Bulawayo African Townships between 1965 and1971 142 Table 4: Population Growth in Bulawayo from 1982 to 1991 154 Table 5: Government NHF loans to Bulawayo city council between 1983 and 1988 176 Table