FIGURES of Zimbabweans resident in South Africa peddled by the Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency (ZIMSTAT) are false!

A fact check by ZimTracker shows that there are more than 2.5 million Zimbabweans residing in South Africa alone, and not 773 246 as revealed by the body which carried out a census in April.

ZimTracker’s conclusion was made following a review of confidential information about call records made frequently from SA to Zimbabwe.

ZimTracker is unable to reveal much about the data due to privacy, confidential issues and the sensitive nature of the case.
“All we can say at the moment is that we have obtained irrefutable data related to SIM (Sim Identity Modules) that shows Zimstat’s figures are cooked up, for reasons best known by themselves, be they political, economic or social. The bottom line is that they should not be relied upon,” said Walter Marwizi, the Editor of ZimTracker, a new fact checking platform that combats fake news, misinformation and disinformation in Zimbabwe.

“Information that disproves Zimstat can easily be obtained from telecoms companies and money transfer agencies. Daily Zimbabweans are calling home and sending money to their relatives. We call for an independent audit in ZIMSTAT’s figures.”

Zimbabweans residing in SA call home frequently, and when they do, their SIM cards are recorded digitally.

A SIM card, also known as a subscriber identity module, is a smart card that stores identification information that pinpoints a smartphone to a specific mobile network. Data that SIM cards contain include user identity, location and phone number, network authorization data, personal security keys, contact lists and stored text messages. Information obtained by ZimTracker shows there are about 2.5 million SIM unique identities of Zimbabweans who call relatives in Zimbabwe.

“Their Sim identities give a correct picture of Zimbabweans in SA and in other countries. Unfortunately ZimTracker’s fact check was only concentrated on SA, otherwise a true picture of the numbers of Zimbabweans in the diaspora could have been obtained.”

Marwizi, a veteran journalist and former editor of The Standard newspaper said ZimTracker’s interest in the matter was aroused when ZIMSTAT made public its figures a few days ago.

“Our fact checkers got down to work, and discovered a different story altogether; one of over 2.5 million Zimbabweans living in SA, leaving their footprints digitally all over. It’s something that cannot be whitewashed by ZIMSTAT’s figures.”

“If ZIMSTAT or government disputes our findings, they can contact Telecoms services providers or money transfer agencies and ask them to provide data of Zimbabweans calling or sending money to Zimbabwe. These digital footprints can prove ZimTracker is on solid ground and it would be helpful if this data is made available for everyone to see,” added Marwizi.

ZimTracker is an impartial and apolitical not-for profit fact-checking organisation which aims to counter the growing rise of fake news, misinformation and disinformation on social and mainstream media in Zimbabwe.

Working mainly in under-served communities, it fact-checks several topics from politics, finance, the environment, humanitarian issues, health, tourism, education, gender and human rights, children and women issues, governance, among other big topical issues of public interest.

It also conducts media literacy training to citizen journalists and young boys and girls in Zimbabwe’s rural areas.