National Social Protection Floors and Income Security for Older Persons: Prospects for Zimbabwe

IntroductionZimbabwe is a former British colony that attained its independence in April 1980 following a drawn-out war for liberation. The country is a member of the Southern African Development Community, which consists of fifteen member states. The preliminary results of the 2012 National Census show that Zimbabwe has a population of 12,973,808 people (Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, 2013). Older persons constitute about 4 percent of the population. Zimbabwe was fairly stable until 2000 when it embarked on a land reform program. As a result of this controversial program and the subsequent targeted sanctions imposed by some Western countries, Zimbabwe experienced an economic meltdown from 2000 to 2008. During this period, Zimbabwe witnessed negative growth in real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and inflation peaked at 2 31 million percent in July 2008 (Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, 2013). Such a rate of inflation was unprecedented in modern history. It is therefore not surprising that poverty became a major problem.There has been no quick fix to the consequences of economic decline that took place between 2000 and 2008. Consequently poverty levels are still high. The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (2013) reports that 62.6 percent of households in Zimbabwe are classified as poor and 16.2 percent are classified as extremely poor. The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency also reports that the poverty level is higher in rural areas (76 percent) than in urban areas (38.2 percent). The high poverty levels underscore the need for a comprehensive social protection system. In the absence of a comprehensive social protection system, the majority of the poor have nothing to fall back on.Social Protection FloorsThe Social Protection Floors Recommendation 2012 (No.202) adopted by the International Labour Conference in June 2012 provides a framework for member states of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to extend coverage of social security (ILO, 2012). The extension of social security coverage is particularly pertinent for developing countries given the current low levels of coverage. The ILO observes that the coverage offered by social security systems in sub-Saharan Africa and in South Asia ranges between 5 and 10 percent of the total population. The major reason for this low coverage is that many countries have historically relied on social insurance as the main strategy for extending social protection. This approach fails to take cognizance of the fact that the majority of the people in developing countries are engaged in atypical forms of employment and are therefore excluded from participating in social insurance schemes. Under Social Protection Floors Recommendation 2012 (No. 202), ILO member states are encouraged to set up national social protection floors in order to make social protection available to all (ILO, 2012). The national social protection floors are essentially social security guarantees. These social security guarantees include the following:* "access to essential health care, including maternity care;* basic income security for children, providing access to nutrition, education, care, and any other necessary goods and services;* basic income security for persons of active age who are unable to earn sufficient income, in particular in cases of sickness, unemployment, maternity, or disability;* basic income security for older persons" (ILO, 2012, p. 1). The Social Protection Floors Recommendation does not dictate to member states how these social security guarantees should be realized. Consequently, each member state must decide what is feasible within its economic circumstances. Therefore, the social security guarantees can take any form, including social insurance, social assistance, universal benefits, or public employment schemes (ILO, 2012). Current Social Protection Landscape for Older Persons in ZimbabweZimbabwe does not have a noncontributory old age pension. …