A week ago, a story went viral on social media about a woman who was set on fire at a Spar supermarket in Musina in Limpopo. The 40-year-old Zimbabwean mother of two had come to SA earlier this month in a desperate search for employment opportunities, which are almost non-existent in Zimbabwe.

Over the past two decades, the Zimbabwean economy has been in free-fall. Millions of people are unemployed, and most of those who are employed are doing precarious work. The inflation rate sits at an astounding 837.53% – the highest in the world. Ravages of acute hunger have also hit the country. The United Nations World Food Programme has indicated that by the end of the year, the number of food-insecure people in Zimbabwe will be 8.6m...