Zimbabwean taxi drivers, along with owners of taxi firms, accuse police of seeking to raise money for their operations by imposing hefty fines on their vehicles, which they say impacts on their business.
Advertisement
President Robert Mugabe, in power since Zimbabwe’s independence from Britain in 1980, was on Wednesday attending a scheduled meeting of his ZANU-PF’s politburo, the party’s top executive organ.
The mass action follows Monday’s violent protests, the first in the country since 2005, and a strike by government workers yesterday over unpaid wages.
Under Mugabe’s authoritarian rule, protests and strikes have been rare in Zimbabwe despite about 90 percent of the population being out of formal employment.
“By and large most of our members are still on strike despite the intimidation and threats from the authorities”, the association’s secretary-general, John Mulilo, said by phone.
“Government departments were operating without some of their staff who stayed at home”.
Among public sector workers, only police and security forces were paid in June. It also coincides with a strike by doctors, teachers and nurses over delayed salaries.
The unrest in the southern African country began last Friday with online activists calling for a shutdown in the face of mounting challenges the country was facing due to the shortage of food resources and a crippling economy.
The drivers blocked roads leading into the center of Harare, forcing many people to walk up to 6 miles (10 kilometers) to get to work.
At the Beitbridge border post, protests continue over Zimbabwe’s new regulation to ban various imports. Police also said an Australian tourist was arrested in the resort town of Victoria Falls for allegedly taking part.
Mugabe, 92, still appears regularly in public walking unaided and delivers long, fiery speeches, but he has shown increasing signs of ill health.
In the volatile township of Mufakose, to the west of Harare, hundreds of youths barricaded roads to stop people going to work, Reuters witnesses said.
However, in anger and in frustration, Zimbabweans should be advised that peaceful protests and dissent are the best way they can convey their message to this government that they want change in the way they are governed.
Similar demonstrations have been ruthlessly crushed in the past. During the presentation, it was noted that police officers, through their intelligence units, were aware of the planned (Beitbridge) demonstrations, but did nothing to contain the issue.
Advertisement
Mrs. Mujuru told a news conference held at her Harare residence Tuesday that President Mugabe should dissolve government to pave way for fresh elections to contain the country’s economic crisis.
