This study focuses on Zimbabwe's first hyperinflation which began in March 2007 and peaked at 231 million percent in July 2008. Through a comparative pre-post analysis, the study investigates hyperinflation's effects on the well-being of households, its empirical chapters assessing changes in asset poverty, asset inequality and child malnutrition before and after the hyperinflation. The first empirical chapter assesses the shifts in asset poverty. Household holdings of physical assets and recorded access to public utilities are drawn from the 1994, 1999, 2005 (prehyperinflation) and the 2010 and 2015 (post-hyperinflation) Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey datasets. These are used to construct an asset index, with the 20th and 40th percentiles as relative poverty lines. Asset-derived poverty headcount and poverty gaps are measured and compared across the two periods. The national asset poverty headcount ratio decreased by 27 percent largely driven by of the experience of rural households whose asset poverty headcount fell by 31 percent. In contrast urban households experienced a 51 percent increase in asset poverty in this period. The second empirical chapter assesses the shifts in asset inequality during the hyperinflation. Rather than focus on income inequality, it continues using asset holdings and constructs pre- and post-hyperinflation asset Gini coefficients for urban and rural households. These show decreased asset inequality during the hyperinflationary period. At a national level, inequality decreased by 7 percent and in rural areas by 2 percent. The decrease in inequality on a national level was mainly attributable to the increase in private assets among rural households. However, there was a 2 percent increase in inequality among urban households, largely attributable to ownership of private assets. Land and livestock were the main drivers of inequality. The final empirical chapter focuses on the changes in child nutrition during the hyperinflation, and the factors contributing to these changes amongst children under the age of 5. Using Mosley and Chen's (1984) proximate determinants analytic framework, multivariate Logistic regression analyses revealed that wasting and stunting increased with inflation. Other related factors were poor access to electricity, safe drinking water, improved toilets and healthcare, as well as low levels of mother's education and asset wealth.

PHDRDV / Institute for Rural Development

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

MAAS / Department of Developmental Studies

MPH / Department of Public Health / See the attached abstract below

MPH / Department of Public Health / See the attached abstract below

MA (Tshivenda) / Senthara ya M.E.R Mathivha ya Nyambo dza Afrika, Vhutsila na Mvelele / Language shift is the process whereby members of a community in which more than one language is spoken abandon their original language in favour of another. This research concerns language shift by speakers of the Tshivenḓa language found in Beitbridge district in Zimbabwe. The Vhavenḓa people in Beitbridge district are shifting away from their language and using other languages found in the district. Today the Vhavenḓa people living in Beitbridge have adopted other languages and dislike their own. The consequence of forsaking their mother language has had a negative impact on the Vhavenḓa people. The research aims at discussing the concept of shift, what kinds of behaviours constitute shift and indications of shift in the Tshivenḓa language. The research also gives recommendations on how to reduce language shift in the Tshivenḓa language in Beitbridge.

MRDV / Institute for Rural Development / Two decades after the “Fast Track” land resettlement in Zimbabwe, little is known about the sustainability of livelihoods of households that benefited from the programme. “Fast Track” refers to the accelerated land resettlement which started in 2000 in Zimbabwe. The government of Zimbabwe argues that it introduced it as an intervention strategy to enhance the livelihoods of marginalised indigenous people. However, the nature of the fast track land resettlement has been met with considerable criticism. An exploratory study that sought to assess the sustainability of livelihoods through obtaining the perspectives of men, women and youth in fast track resettlement areas of Shamva District was carried out. Focus group discussions and semi-structured interview guides were used to obtain the perceptions. The attempt to understand the sustainability of livelihoods involved determining the perceived (a) major features of sustainable livelihoods, (b) criteria for assessing sustainability of livelihoods, and (c) livelihood strategies adopted. Data were coded and analysed using Atlas-it version 7.5 software. Dependability of livelihoods, ability to recover from stress, extent to which livelihoods conserved the environment, ease with which livelihoods were interchanged and ability to close the gap between rich and poor members of society were the perceived features of sustainable livelihoods. Criteria for assessing the sustainability of livelihoods included the ability of livelihoods to contribute to development, provide a stable flow of income, promotion of social development, potential for growth and ability to conserve the environment. Petty trading, agricultural intensification, self-employment and community savings were the main livelihood strategies pursued in the fast track resettlement areas of Shamva District. Inherent challenges that inhibited the sustainability of livelihoods were cited as lack of infrastructure, poor markets for agricultural products and poor communication. The use of participatory research was crucial in co-creation of knowledge with the resettled farmers. The information generated is useful for crafting empowerment strategies in the fast track resettled farming communities. / NRF

Masters of Art / The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and the ruling party, the Zimbabwe African Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), are strongly interlinked in politics since independence, that is, the Army largely functions as the military wing of the party (ZANU-PF) and the state. The ZNA is also deeply involved in civilian politics. This study examines the experiences of commissioned women soldiers, as well as their understandings of power and politics in the ZNA. While many male soldiers are in positions of power and authority in the military, party, state, and civilian politics, commissioned women soldiers are marginalised in all of these areas. The role and position of women soldiers in this regard nevertheless remain under-researched. In this thesis I interrogate the complex processes and relations of power which discipline women soldiers and exclude them from processes of power and politics in the ZNA. I argue that there are various practice and discourses which affect women soldiers’ roles in the military. To do so, I draw on Foucault’s (1977) work on power/ knowledge, particularly the concepts of practices, relations, power and panopticism to examine how woman soldiers’ aspirations regarding power and politics are monitored and restricted in the military. I also draw on Enloe’s (2000) work on power politics and Sasson-Levy’s (2003) work on military gendered practices as interpretive and critical paradigmatic approaches to analyse how women experience hegemonic military masculinities in- and outside the army. The study employed ethnographic methods such as life histories, in-depth interviews and informal conversations with ten commissioned women soldiers in the ZNA. These methods were triangulated to corroborate responses from research participants and the data was thematically analysed

Background: Curtailing adverse social determinants of health is pivotal to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development`s vision for a healthy and inclusive society. In Zimbabwe, fulfilling Vision 2030 may involve adopting socially inclusive approaches, particularly for young people dually afflicted with HIV and substance use disorders. However, social inclusion remains conceptually unclear and underutilized in relation to marginalized groups in low resource settings. This study sought to explore and understand how dually afflicted young adults with substance use disorders and HIV in Zimbabwe experienced and negotiated their social inclusion. Methods: This study utilised a qualitative instrumental case study design. Primary qualitative and quantitative data were collected to develop a thorough understanding of the case of an occupational perspective of social inclusion among dually afflicted young adults in Zimbabwe. The multiple methods used in this study included: i) narrative inquiry with five dually afflicted young adults; ii) in-depth interviews with five key informants; iii) document analysis of seven policies; and, iv) exploratory cross-sectional survey of social inclusion and associated factors (n=105). These multiple methods and sources contributed to the study`s trustworthiness. Multi-level case study analysis was applied as follows; 1st level: narrative analysis of each of the five young adults` stories, descriptive analysis of key informant interviews, document analysis and descriptive statistical analysis of the cross-sectional survey data. 2nd level: thematic case analysis drawing from all four data sources. 3rd level: theorised conceptual occupational constructs. Findings: Five narratives illustrated how using agency and having occupational choices were central to the young adults` experience and negotiation of social inclusion. The overarching Case theme was “Navigating an already troubled life: Striving for belonging and well-being”. This consists of three categories: 1) Dealing with a context of mixed realities, 2) Trying to adjust to new challenges and, 3) Life on the margins. These findings show how dually afflicted young adults in Zimbabwe respond and resist the influences of dominant discourses through dynamic and interconnected actions that shape their realities. Conclusion: The study describes and explains how dually afflicted young adults experienced and negotiated their social inclusion. The data affirms the role of agency and proposes a more critical view of occupational choice, activist occupational choice, in understanding social inclusion. As an emergent concept it is categorized by occupational choices, largely defying standard norms of engagement, and aims to break away from oppressive systems and problematic situations. Recognising the diverse manifestation of agency yields an appreciation for how occupations that are indigenous, collective, and resist oppression contributes to experiences of social inclusion.