Brain Drain Decimates Zimbabwe’s Emergency Services As Workers Leave En Masse

Essential services in Zimbabwe on the verge of collapse as poor remuneration and working conditions drive workers abroad By Chris Muronzi Samuel Chikengezha, a 35-year-old fireman, sits on a sofa in his modest home, staring at the television set while he stresses over how he’ll make ends meet this month. He has not yet paid school fees for his three children, he said – one of many financial challenges he faces because the money he pulls in as a first responder in Zimbabwe has not kept pace with inflation for years. “I survive on borrowings from friends and family to get by as the money is barely enough,” he told Al Jazeera. Like many of his colleagues, Chikengezha reckons the solution to his financial woes is to leave Zimbabwe for a higher-paying job abroad. “I want to leave the country. Every one of us wants to leave for other countries. We are all in waiting mode, really,” he said.