The pandemic is robbing thousands of people livelihoods sending many to begging thereby swelling the numbers of beggars in Kigali and its suburbs.

Groups of mostly women and children are often seen going from house to house in places like Kimironko, Remera, Kanombe and Kicukiro knocking on houses begging for food, clothes and money, or asking for work in exchange for food.

The lockdowns and other microeconomic disruptions brought forth by the pandemic have exerted more pressure on thousands of already vulnerable households, after their breadwinners lost incomes.

Even before the current lockdown was announced, families were reeling from joblessness and high cost of essential goods.

Companies in the Kigali Special Economic Zone, for example, that paid wages to thousands of casual labourers had to lay off many as the pandemic brought manufacturing to its knees.

Ingabire Aline used to wake up early to buy fish from a fish importer in the special economic zone, which she would sell around Kanombe and Remera. From this she would take care of her four children, and pay school fees for the oldest.

Things changed for the worst starting last year, what with lockdowns that ensured her capital was depleted. Now she goes begging in the same neighbourhoods she used to sell fish.

Survival mode

“I lost all my capital at the beginning of this year, and I can't find any work, so I beg with my two girls. Right now, my children and I just need to survive. I know time will come and I will get back on my feet,” she said.

With the pandemic hurting sectors like hospitality, trade, manufacturing and construction, whose jobs used to trickle down to people doing manual jobs, many families have been left desperate without any source of income.

Middle class households that used to also provide casual work like lawn gardening, washing clothes or offering domestic work to people, have had to cut their expenditures and do this work for themselves as everyone does what is possible to survive the tough economic times at hand.

According to the April labour force survey released by the National Institute of Statistics, in February, the population outside the labour force was 3,764,686, growing by 14.9 per cent compared to February 2020 and by 14.5 percentage points compared to the previous quarter (November 2020).

The population in working age who were outside the labour force and involved in subsistence agriculture represented 3.4 per cent.

The proportion of the working age population outside the labour force consisting of elderly persons, disables, discouraged jobs seekers, etc, was estimated at 1,218,532 in February 2021 and this group had increased by 29.4 percentage points as compared to February 2020 and by 32.4 percentage points as compared to November 2020.

The analysis of employment trends shows a decrease of the employed population from around 3,408,000 in November 2020(Q4) to 3,204,924 in February 2021.