The State Of Crisis

Zimbabwe put Emmerson Mnangagwa in power hoping he would revive its battered economy. This expectation is on a downward spiral as harassed citizens take to the streets.

- Ancillar Mangena

A MERE 14 MONTHS ago, people sang and danced on the streets in jubilation. After 37 years at the helm, Robert Mugabe had finally resigned. The masses sang struggle songs saying “true independence” had finally arrived. They hoped his successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, would bring back Zimbabwe’s dim and distant economic boom.

The optimism was misplaced. The country’s economic condition has been gradually worsening since.

On January 12, horror set in. President Mnangagwa announced

an overnight fuel hike of 150%. It now costs $3.31 (local bond note) to buy a liter of fuel. Of that, 78% goes to taxes, making fuel in Zimbabwe one of the most expensive in the world. If you drive a 40-liter petrol tank car, you will now spend $265 (local bond note) on just two tanks of petrol, per month, when an average Zimbabwean earns a mere $300 (local bond notes).

“That the fuel increase will only trigger a wave of price hikes on each and every other item on the shelves is as obvious as the incapacity of Zanu-PF to govern and lead a prosperous Zimbabwe,” says Jacob Mafume, National Spokesperson of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

The shocking fuel hike comes when most of Zimbabwe’s fuel stations have been dry for weeks.

“I have to spend one day a week in a fuel queue and I lose valuable time. I spend six to 11 hours in a queue at a time. I am even forced to do some of my work while in the queue, otherwise I won’t be able to go to work or take my kids to school. What’s worse is that this fuel is not unleaded, it is actually blended with ethanol which means it doesn’t last,” says Zimbabwean resident Grace Zulu.

The fuel hike pushed citizens to the edge and drove the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the umbrella body for all Zimbabwean workers, to call for people to stay home for three days, in protest.