Articles

The MDC Alliance and the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions late last week called for a “stay-away” of two, three and five days this week to peacefully demonstrate to the ZANU-PF Mnangagwa government that its economic policies had to change – mainly relating to fuel shortages, the use of Bond Notes and the need to pay workers in US dollars.

Finance Secretary Mthuli Ncube presented the new state Budget on November 22, which can only be described as a harsh austerity budget, tempered only by the promise to pay the 13th month pay within the financial year, a big improvement on past years. Some of the austerity is good – cutting wages to ghost state employees.

Last week marked the first anniversary of the deposing of former President Robert Mugabe by the military putting him and his wife Grace under house arrest, and then the ZANU-PF MPs resolving to impeach him. There was no celebration as the country struggled with economic collapse, disappointment and ongoing political paralysis.

The new government of President Mnangagwa has not only run into a panic buying crisis, but also an alleged scandal of corrupt management of the US dollars everyone needs so desperately. It is alleged that the whole state has been captured by Sakunda Holdings owner Kuda Tagwirei. Sakunda Holdings has a private monopoly over fuel imports.

The preventive arrest of 20 Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions last Thursday was aimed at stopping mass protests at a new 2 per cent tax on all electronic transactions. This state action demonstrated that despite the rhetoric of democratic change, important democratic rights to assemble and to protest are not respected.