Hyperinflation erodes elder pensions in Zimbabwe

HARARE, Zimbabwe

Hyperinflation in the landlocked southern African country of Zimbabwe is making pensions all but worthless and hitting the country’s retired seniors hard.

On the eve of World Senior Citizen's Day, which is being observed on Saturday, many elderly persons told Anadolu Agency that the situation has turned from bad to worse for them and it was increasingly becoming difficult for them to afford to buy food.

Mordecai Zinyoro, 89, who retired from a fertilizer producing company in 1997, has taken to begging to survive. He sits at the gate of his home in Highfield, a poor-income suburb in Harare, the Zimbabwean capital, where people drop some food parcels for him.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Zinyoro said he used to enjoy life with his pension after he reached the age of superannuation till 2004. But then everything turned upside down with the hyperinflation striking the country.

“My pension became worthless to buy anything,” he said.

Meant to increase awareness about issues related to the elderly population, the UN had designated Aug. 21 as the day to draw attention to health deterioration, elder abuse and to recognize and acknowledge their contributions to the society.

“I’m hearing about this day from you. I am suffering. My wife died eight years ago and my three sons died, one recently from COVID-19, and my two daughters are also suffering where they are married,” he said.

Good Samaritans like Jonasi Chivongwe, 42, do step in to help Zinyoro. But the old man insists that he wants his pension to be increased to match hyperinflation.

According to Zinyoro, he is drawing a pension of 850 Zimbabwean dollars ($10), every month, not enough to sustain him.

“From independence up until now, there never has been any scheme to help the aged here. We were the backbone of the liberation struggle,” Jonathan Mandaza, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Older Persons’ Organization, told Anadolu Agency.

- COVID-19 aggravates the situation

There are some like Mirirai Zvomunya, 76, a widow whose all five children have died, does not even get the pension. She is looking after her seven grandchildren at the fag-end of her life.

“I can’t stop my job as a vendor even in at this old age because I have to feed my grandchildren and their children too because they have no jobs and I have to live with them,” she said.

She said the COVID-19 pandemic has made the situation more difficult for the elderly.

According to Priscilla Gavi, executive director of Help Age Zimbabwe, there are 713,420 elderly people residing in the country, that makes 4.8% of the total population. She said that 80% of these people live in abject poverty with no source of income or any social security.

Help Age Zimbabwe has also been demanding the enactment of legislation to link pensions to the cost of living. Even as the Older Persons Act which was passed in 2012, came into force in 2017, senior citizens continue to live in abject poverty.

The corruption has aggravated the situation further, with reports that only fewer elderly persons are receiving social grants.

In Zimbabwe, elderly persons are entitled to a monthly stipend of $20. Elderly citizens say while it is a meager grant, still it is not available across the board.