"Much ado about nothing"? The historical journey towards financial inclusion for Zimbabwe's low-earning consumers

Abstract

An investigation into the debt relief measures available to consumer debtors in Zimbabwe reveals that the former and now repealed insolvency statutes did not cater for debtors with smaller estates such as No-Income-No Asset (NINA) debtors. Given the dire state of the Zimbabwean economy due to a multiplicity of economic and political reasons fuelled by other factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, this category of Zimbabwean consumer debtors found themselves in a lifelong debt trap. However, in 2018, Zimbabwe introduced a new Insolvency Act that, among others, provides for a pre-liquidation composition procedure that could benefit those debtors who do not qualify for the liquidation of assets process. Against the backdrop of the historical development and the plight of indigent debtors, the authors consider the new measure and conclude that although being a step in the right direction, it may still provide too little protection for NINA debtors.