Zimbabweans in SA keep their country ticking over

Harare - South African-based Zimbabweans have kept their country ticking after contributing the bulk of remittances the country has received since 2009.

According to Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe deputy governor Dr Kupukile Mlambo, Zimbabweans in South Africa contributed the bulk of the US$3.5bn the country has received from its nationals in the diaspora.

Mlambo was quoted by The Herald newspaper as saying: “The largest part of our remittances come from South Africa with 33%, UK with 24% and the USA with 7%.”

He was speaking at the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce annual congress. Mlambo added that remittances from the estimated 3.5 million Zimbabweans living in foreign countries could play a bigger role in easing the liquidity crisis that has hamstrung the economy.

The remittances have helped the liquidity situation in Zimbabwe, which has a huge trade deficit.

According to figures from the country’s statistical agency Zimstat, Zimbabwe’s trade deficit reached $3.3bn in 2014 after the country imported goods worth $6.3bn and exported goods worth $3.06bn.

With the country using the US dollar and the rand as its main currencies, the deficit is likely to have been covered by remittances from the diaspora.

Analysts believe remittances from countries such as South Africa could be more than the official figures as most people use other informal channels to send money back home.

Some of these include cross-border bus and truck drivers, as well as friends and relatives who cross into and out of South Africa on a daily basis.