Protesters have taken to streets of Harare and other major cities in Zimbabwe, as roads are barricaded with burned tires, over the announcement of a new pump price of fuel by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
According to Reuters, Police fired teargas to disperse youths protesting outside the high court in Zimbabwe’s second city of Bulawayo, according to video footage from the Centre For Innovation & Technology, a local news service. Riot police in trucks patrolled downtown Harare while some shops remained closed
President Mnangagwa had on Saturday night announced the increases to journalists at the State House ahead of his tour of Eastern Europe and Switzerland, blaming the move on the current shortfall in the fuel market, increased fuel usage in the growing economy, and compounded by rampant illegal currency and fuel trading activities, he said.
He announced the new pump price to be $3.11 per litre for diesel and $3.33 per litre for petrol.
This move by the government clearly did not go down well with the people, as they took to the streets of Harare to express their grievances.
The main labour body as reported by BBC, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), said the government had shown a clear lack of empathy for the poor.
In the capital, Harare, hundreds of residents in the suburb of Epworth blocked roads to prevent buses from getting to their destination.
The angry youth said the government does not seem to have solutions to their problems and called on it to step down.
Other economic measures announced by the government include:
1) We will grant a rebate to all registered business entities in Manufacturing, Mining, Commerce, Agriculture and Transport sectors, to be decided at a later date.
2) Enhance the export incentive scheme by an additional 2.5%
3) Implement immediate measures to ensure constant fuel supply into the country for sustainable fuel availability
4) Put in place a package of measures to cushion Government workers, until a full review of Cost-of-living
Adjustment package due in April is effected (in the context of the current budget)
5) Begin a comprehensive audit of all fuel draw-downs to establish all misuse of fuel including politically
motivated and criminal conduct.