On November 27, 2017, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who succeeded ousted President Robert Mugabe following the 2017 Zimbabwe coup d'état, announced the dissolution of the Zimbabwe Cabinet, leaving only Patrick Chinamasa and Simbarashe Mumbengegwi as acting ministers of Finance and Foreign Affairs respectively.
[3] The Ministry of Labour and Social Services (MoLSS) is the arm of government with statutory responsibility for the protection of vulnerable populations in Zimbabwe.
The Department of Social Services (DSS), which is the main focal point of the assignment, is responsible for finance and administration, rehabilitation, family and child welfare, and policy and programming.
[4] As economic growth declined in Zimbabwe, so did the labour absorptive capacity of the economy such that by 2004, four out of every five jobs in Zimbabwe were informalised, resulting in massive decent work deficits.
[6] The high unemployment rate led to a lack of professional expertise in different organisations following the exodus of qualified social workers as well as other professionals in search of greener pastures in neighbouring countries and abroad.