Inequality manifested during the civil unrest that took place after an increase in fuel prices in Zimbabwe during the beginning of this year.
Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) Executive Director Janet Zhou, at a press conference in Harare today, said the adverse effects of inequality on individuals and national development cannot be emphasized.
“The recently held protests against fuel prices leave a lot to be desired in terms of the inequality in the country,” Zhou said. “Protests were a clear sign that Zimbabweans are existing in different social strata and social stratification is the greatest sign of inequality.”
“Protests loomed in the high-density residential areas and none was recorded in leafy suburbs.”
The executive director also revealed the unequal access to social services such as health facilities that exist in the Southern African country.
“Only the poor were hard hit by the recent nurses’ and doctors’ strikes,” said Zhou. “According to the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association, Mpilo Hospital certified an average of four deaths per day during the strike.”
“Furthermore, the partial privatization of public hospitals makes the poor more vulnerable as patients are asked to pay for certain services provided by private players. At Chitungwiza General Hospital, patients now pay for X-Rays, full blood count among other services.”
The poor in Zimbabwe have also been complaining of access to medication, which now requires foreign currency since the introduction of FCA accounts by the Minister of Finance.
On inequality in taxes, the ZIMCODD director said the government made a damning revelation that over 4 000 big businesses in Zimbabwe are not registered with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) for the purposes of tax evasion.
“The 2% tax on all intermediated money transfers between $10.00 and a $10,000 flat tax for transactions above $500,000 is very regressive because big sharks that deal with millions and billions of dollars will pay a flat fee that do not commensurate the wealth they have.”
“The paradox gets even worse when we consider that the poverty datum line $574,” explained Zhou.
ZIMCODD asked the government to adopt pro-poor social and economic policies; in consultation with other stakeholders to address the problem of inequality which divides societies.
“Lifestyle audits for rich should be done without fear or favour to avoid revenue leakages and policies should be promulgated to enhance to enhance transparency and tax compliance,” Zhou said.
