Policy implications
What does this imply for policy? Those who migrate to the West or farther in the continent are likely a good match for the receiving countries since they are on average more educated. Concerns about the negative effects of “brain drain” notwithstanding, remittances, investments, and transfer of skills and knowledge from these migrants have an important role to play in Zimbabwe’s growth and development. Boosting the education attainment and skills of everyone would be an equitable, “no regret” investment, improving the productivity of all workers, whether they work at home or abroad.
However, the “good match” category constitutes a small segment of all migrants. According to the 2022 PHC, only about 16% of emigrants had secondary or tertiary level of education (ZIMSTAT, 2023). This leaves a large majority of emigrants who are likely a poor match for the receiving countries. The best long-term protection for such workers is investment in human capital to boost their productive capacities, complemented by equitable access to economic opportunities at home (Zimbabwe Country Economic Memorandum, World Bank, 2022). This will obviate the need for risky cross-border moves in the first place.
What migration means for development efforts
It is important to institute robust disaster risk management (DRM) and adaptive social protection systems to improve household resilience. This will remove the necessity of hazardous migration in response to economic or natural shocks. Through the Zimbabwe Reconstruction Fund (ZIMREF), the World Bank helped strengthen social protection and DRM response with pilots such as a centralized beneficiary registry management information system (MIS), and support to the DRM Strategy planning process, formulation of the DRM Bill, and the National Plan for Emergency Preparedness and Response. A World Bank pilot project to reduce school dropout of adolescent girls after the COVID-19 pandemic through complementary social protection and WASH interventions is an example of a multisectoral intervention to enhance human capital and increase resilience. These themes will be explored in the upcoming Zimbabwe Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR).
Cooperation with the destination countries, mainly South Africa, to promote legal pathways to migration and check illicit migration is important to protect the rights and interests of circular, irregular migrants.
Internal migration
While this blog focuses on cross-border migration, much of the movement is within the national borders. Between 2012 and 2022, 3.6 million people moved from one province to another (ZIMSTAT, 2023). Data show that urban and migrant households have a lower level of poverty than rural and non-migrant households (Zimbabwe Poverty Assessment, World Bank, 2022) and, although not conclusive, the association suggests that internal migration leads to better economic outcomes. Thus, well-planned internal movement of people, connecting them to better jobs and services, will be an important component of inclusive economic growth, poverty reduction, and human development in Zimbabwe’s development path (Zimbabwe Urbanization Review, World Bank, 2022).
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