HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe’s businesses were shut and streets deserted in the capital Harare early on Friday as security forces increased patrols to stop anti-government protests called by activists over corruption and economic hardship.



President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is under pressure to revive a stricken economy, has said the protests constitute an “insurrection” by the opposition.



In central Harare and nearby Mbare township &#8211; a hotbed of past protests &#8211; businesses, including banks and supermarkets, were shut as police and soldiers patrolled the streets.



“Workers were told not to come today just in case there was trouble,” said a security guard, who identified himself as Martin, having a meal of tea and sweet potatoes at a bank.



Security forces increased check points on roads leading into central Harare.



A journalist in the second biggest city Bulawayo said businesses were also closed with few cars on the road.



Scores were killed during a crackdown on the last major protests in January 2019 and the government shut the internet.



Zimbabwe’s worst economic crisis in more than a decade is marked by inflation running above 700%, acute shortages of foreign currency and public hospitals crippled by strikes and a lack of medicine.



Critics say Mnangagwa is exploiting a COVID-19 lockdown to stifle dissent. Mnangagwa imposed an overnight curfew and restricted free movement last week to curb coronavirus infections.



The president’s opponents say he has failed to unite a deeply divided nation after much hope when he took over from Robert Mugabe, who was removed in a coup in 2017. Mnangagwa, like Mugabe before him, says the economic crisis is the result of sabotage by businesses and an opposition funded by the West.

Zimbabwe tightens coronavirus lockdown in capital Harare as cases hit 203

Zimbabwe businesses closed, streets deserted on day of protests

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe’s security forces on Thursday cleared people off streets of the capital Harare and forced shops to close, a day before planned anti-government protests during the worst economic crisis in more than a decade.



President Emmerson Mnangagwa has struggled to keep his promise to revive the economy, with many Zimbabweans complaining they are worse off than when he replaced the autocratic Robert Mugabe after an army coup in 2017.



Activists have called for street rallies across the country on Friday over corruption in government and economic hardships. Soaring inflation has eroded salaries and pensions.



On Wednesday, Mnangagwa said the protest would constitute an “insurrection” by the opposition.



Melanie Johnson, the ambassador from former colonial ruler Britain, called for restraint from both sides, saying on Twitter she was concerned by “toughening language on and off social media in Zimbabwe.”



In central Harare, armed soldiers and anti-riot police patrolled on foot and in trucks, telling people to leave, while checkpoints blocked roads in.



“Why are they forcing shops to close before the stipulated time?” asked one nervous motorist, asking not to be named.



After midday, downtown Harare was largely empty.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">‘FULL ALERT’</h3>



A police statement said no demonstrations would be allowed.



“All security arms of government are on full alert and will deal decisively with any individuals or groups fomenting violence and sending threats or provocative messages through the social media or any other means,” it said.



Scores were killed during a crackdown on the last major protests in January 2019 and the government shut the internet.



Activists said they would press on and people would demonstrate in their neighbourhoods. “The protest is fluid. It will take whatever form that will disable the regime, and would be the beginning of many more in future,” Promise Mkwananzi said by Twitter from a secret location where he was hiding from police.Slideshow&nbsp;(4 Images)



“The regime has already been shaken to the core. We have disrupted their comfort zones.”



Critics say Mnangagwa, like other authoritarian leaders round the world, is exploiting the coronavirus lockdown to stifle dissent.



Illustrating the crisis, senior doctors at government hospitals said they stopped work on Thursday over poor conditions, joining thousands of nurses who quit work last month.



Seven babies were stillborn in one night at a major hospital this week because their mothers did not get adequate medical care due to the nurses’ strike.

zimuuu

Zimbabwe’s security forces clear streets ahead of planned protests

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe agreed on Wednesday to pay $3.5 billion in compensation to white farmers whose land was expropriated by the government to resettle black families, moving a step closer to resolving one the most divisive policies of the Robert Mugabe era.Zimbabwe&#8217;s President Emmerson Mnangagwa speaks during his meeting with Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko (not pictured) in Minsk, Belarus January 17, 2019. Natalia Fedosenko/REUTERS/File Photo



But the southern African nation does not have the money and will issue long term bonds and jointly approach international donors with the farmers to raise funding, according to the compensation agreement.



Two decades ago Mugabe’s government carried out at times violent evictions of 4,500 white farmers and redistributed the land to around 300,000 Black families, arguing it was redressing colonial land imbalances.



The agreement signed at President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s State House offices in Harare showed white farmers would be compensated for infrastructure on the farms and not the land itself, as per the national constitution.



Details of how much money each farmer, or their descendants, given the time elapsed since the farms were seized, was likely to get were not yet clear, but the government has said it would prioritise the elderly when making the settlements.



Farmers would receive 50% of the compensation after a year and the balance within five years.



Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube and acting Agriculture Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri signed on behalf of the government, while farmers unions and a foreign consortium that undertook valuations also penned the agreement.



“As Zimbabweans, we have chosen to resolve this long-outstanding issue,” said Andrew Pascoe, head of the Commercial Farmers Union representing white farmers.



The land seizures were one of Mugabe’s signature policies that soured ties with the West. Mugabe, who was ousted in a coup in 2017 and died last year, accused the West of imposing sanctions on his government as punishment.



The programme still divides public opinion in Zimbabwe as opponents see it as a partisan process that left the country struggling to feed itself. But its supporters say it has empowered landless Black people.



Mnangagwa said the land reform could not be reversed but paying of compensation was key to mending ties with the West.

Emmerson_Mnangagwa_(2019-01-15)

Zimbabwe agrees to pay $3.5 billion compensation to white farmers

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe on Friday suspended trade on the stock exchange and mobile phone-based payments to address what President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government called “criminality and economic sabotage”.



The decision to suspend mobile payments will hit the economy hard as more than 80% of all transactions are conducted on phones due to a shortage of banknotes, according to central bank data.&nbsp;



In a statement on Friday, government spokesman Nick Mangwana said the move, which takes immediate effect, was part of efforts to arrest the slide of the Zimbabwe dollar, which has sharply devalued since its reintroduction last year after a decade of dollarisation.



“Government is in possession of impeccable intelligence which constitutes a prima facie case whereby the phone-based mobile money systems of Zimbabwe are conspiring, with the help of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, either deliberately or inadvertently, in illicit activities that are sabotaging the economy,” the statement said.



The suspension of all mobile payments and the stock market was meant to allow “intrusive investigations”.



The government says mobile payment platforms were major drivers of a roaring foreign currency trade outside formal banking channels, with multiple listed stocks such as Old Mutual providing proxy exchange rates implied by their prices on foreign bourses such as the London Stock Exchange.



On Tuesday, Zimbabwe’s central bank began weekly foreign currency auctions in a bid to draw scarce foreign currency into the formal market.

Zimbabwe suspends stock exchange, mobile payments over ‘economic sabotage’

By Louw Nel – Political Analyst



On Tuesday, May 26, authorities in Zimbabwe charged three activists from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change-Alliance (MDC-A) with breaching the country’s lockdown regulations, nearly two weeks after they were allegedly abducted and brutalised after being taken into police custody.



The female activists, including Member of Parliament Joana Mamombe, were arrested at a roadblock in Harare on May 13 as they were returning from a protest in the Warren Park area.



They say that they were then taken to a remote area where state agents beat and sexually assaulted them before leaving them on the side of the road near Bindura, some 90km north of the capital, two days later.



The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has confirmed that the activists were taken into custody but denies any knowledge of the alleged abduction.



All three remain hospitalised.



Minister of Justice Ziyambi Ziyambi has accused the activists of inventing the story to deflect from their violation of lockdown regulations.



Prosecutors say that the activists were attending a protest gathering of more than 50 people – in contravention of lockdown regulations – and have accused them of trying to “promote public violence or breaches of peace”.



Two journalists who tried to visit the women in hospital were also arrested and charged with breaking lockdown regulations – among them the MDC-A’s youth leader in Harare, Stanley Manyenga.



The decision to charge the women with breaching lockdown regulations has been condemned, with Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) and Amnesty International both describing the decision as an effort to intimidate the women, calling instead for an investigation into their abduction.



The accused’s onerous bail conditions have also been questioned, including the requirement that they report to their local police station three times daily.



Diplomatic envoys in Zimbabwe, including the heads of mission from the EU, Norway, Switzerland, UK, and US, co-signed a statement saying they expect “a swift, thorough and credible investigation into the abduction and torture of opposition Member of Parliament Joana Mamombe, along with Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova… [and that] the perpetrators of heinous acts of this kind and other human rights violations need to be identified and prosecuted”.



Opposition forces in Zimbabwe have questioned the government’s response to Covid-19, suggesting that the widespread deployment of police and military personnel and strict lockdown measures have been used to crack down on and stifle dissent.



The 21-day countrywide lockdown, introduced on March 30, was extended indefinitely on May 16. Heavy-handed enforcement of lockdown restrictions has been widely reported, with the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum saying on May 22 that 245 violations had been recorded since the start of lockdown.



The coalition of 20 rights groups has petitioned the minister of home affairs and the police commissioner to investigate what they describe as “escalating human rights violations”.



The abduction of the MDC-A activists has raised alarm in a country where the targeted harassment – or worse – of opposition forces was commonplace during the regime of former President Robert Mugabe.



The trend seems to be continuing under his successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, with state agents still being accused of extrajudicial actions, presumably with the knowledge of their superiors.



The decision to charge the activists suggests that authorities are intent on continuing their harassment of opposition forces.



More protests against food shortages, such as the event attended by the activists, are likely in the coming weeks and we expect these to be met with a heavy-handed security force response.



For more coverage on COVID-19 visit: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/</a>

Op-Ed: Zimbabwean opposition activists charged following their own abduction

HARARE, Feb 17 (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe&#8217;s central bank left its benchmark interest rate at 35% on Monday, citing moderating inflation, as it looks to print more local currency and limit the use of foreign currencies.



Zimbabwe is struggling through its worst economic crisis in a decade, with prices of basic goods soaring and shortages of medicine, fuel and electricity worsening. Hopes of a quick recovery under President Emmerson Mnangagwa are fading.



The worsening poverty is upsetting the fragile calm that&#8217;s prevailed since the 2017 coup that toppled long-time ruler Robert Mugabe.



After suspending publication of annual inflation data, which economic analysts put at 525% in December, authorities will resume printing the figures next month.



Governor John Mangudya was bullish on inflation, projecting that annual price growth would dip below 50% by the end of the year. Monthly inflation fell in January to 2.23%



&#8220;Our task is we stabilize inflation and stabilize the exchange rate. We expect month-on-month inflation will continue to come down until the end of the year,&#8221; Mangudya said.



&#8220;Most of the inflation is caused by non-monetary factors. That is expectations &#8211; that &#8216;I lost money in 2008&#8217;,&#8221; Mangudya said. &#8220;This is a once-beaten, twice-shy scenario. These are things that shape inflation in Zimbabwe.&#8221;



Zimbabweans have little confidence in monetary policy after pensions and savings were wiped out at the height of hyperinflation, which reached 500 billion% in 2008 and forced the country to dump its local currency.



Last year in June, Zimbabwe ended a decade of dollarisation, which fuelled inflation. Mangudya said it would take up to five years to completely wean Zimbabwe from using the U.S. dollar in local transactions.



Seeking to reassure investors, the governor said foreign currency accounts held by companies, donors and individuals were safe, while businesses like mines would continue to receive a portion of their export earnings in dollars.



To ease shortages of cash, the bank will feed higher- denomination Zimbabwe dollar notes into the economy while increasing transparency on foreign currency trading to stabilise the exchange rate.



The central bank governor said he still saw economic growth at 3% in 2020, citing improved rainfall since mid January. 



(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe, writing by Mfuneko Toyana; editing by William Maclean, Larry King)

Zimbabwe central bank leaves rates unchanged, bullish on inflation, what you need to know…

Economist Eddie Cross* argues why the next decade will be a crucial one for Zimbabwe.



How much more can we take? I was talking to a Zimbabwean
of Asian extraction over the break and he told me that his father came here from
India in 1958. I remarked to him that we were doing pretty well then – we had
peace, a rapidly growing economy, we were part of the wider world and it seemed
that our politics was going in the right direction. Then the Federation broke
up, the white population rejected change and the first shots with live
ammunition were fired after more than 60 years of no violence. The Nationalists
launched their armed struggle for change and from 1965 onwards we were
increasingly isolated from the world around us.



What followed was 15 years of mandatory UN backed sanctions and an armed conflict that drew in all our neighbours and in which we killed each other with enthusiasm. The Rhodesians won all the battles and lost the war leading to 37 years of dominance by Robert Mugabe and his liberation war colleagues. They never really settled down and by 2000 we were again locked into a toxic mix of international isolation, stagnant or declining economic output and domestic conflict and violence.



 Read: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/zdnl-mc/2019/11/17/op-ed-this-is-how-zimbabwe-has-changed-since-i-became-president-emmerson-mnangagwa/">Op-Ed: This is how Zimbabwe has changed since I became president: Emmerson Mnangagwa</a>



International and regional intervention hardly helped but did change the course of our history at key moments – the break-up of the Federation, the intervention of the Americans in 1976, then Lancaster House and finally the Mbeki managed South African initiative that brought us 4 years of recovery and compromise from 2009 to 2013. But for the most part we mismanaged our political, economic and social situation ourselves and as a result we brought down on ourselves political instability and increasing poverty and disparity.



Read: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/zdnl-mc/2019/11/17/op-ed-two-years-on-since-mugabe-was-zimbabwes-president-whats-changed/">Op-Ed: Two years on since Mugabe was Zimbabwe’s president, what’s changed?</a> 



During the 90 years of white settler control and
government the whole country worked for the welfare and interests of a small
white community. After 1980 the whole country worked for a tiny minority of
politically connected individuals who supported the systems that kept the
Mugabe Government in power and control. All other concerns were secondary.
Whatever the system, the effect was the same – the majority suffered and
experienced marginalisation and poverty.



Then came November 2017, the first time we took action as
a people to rid ourselves of a regime that had run out of time and space. Like
the decision in 1923 when we decided to stay out of the new Union of South
Africa, this event was not in any way sponsored or engineered by outside forces
and for the first time found almost universal support among all Zimbabweans. It
was assisted by the Military who overnight became heroes of the people.
However, it did not change the centre of real power which had become the small
group of people who ran the Joint Operations Command under the leadership of
Mr. Mnangagwa and General Chiwenga.



The first post November Government was drawn from this
group and was dominated by elements linked to the Military. Then the elections
in 2018 when Zanu-PF engineered a convincing victory with three quarters of all
Council seats and two thirds of the Parliament. Mr. Mnangagwa could then claim,
for the first time, to be the legitimate leader of Government, even though his
victory was with a tiny majority. It was only at that moment that we saw a new
dispensation of sorts emerge in the form of the first really Mnangagwa
controlled Cabinet.



The President broke with the past at two crucial moments
– after the MAT in November and then after the elections. In both cases he
clearly committed himself and his new Government to fundamental changes and to
re-establishing a working relationship with the international Community after
decades of isolation and hostility. The response to these clear indications of
intent was immediate, and the international Community responded saying that if
we followed through on these undertakings, they would support our economic
recovery and reengagement efforts. It seemed at last that the world was at our
feet again.



But it was not to be. We quickly appreciated that the
President did not have the unfettered power that Mugabe had exercised over the
country for 37 years. The first Cabinet was a divided house and little was
achieved in respect to the reform agenda in the first seven months. This
changed significantly with the elections but again there was evidence of
conflict in the corridors of power where key decisions are made and executed.
Then towards the end of 2019, the President restructured his Cabinet and made a
number of key appointments.



And so we came to the end of a disastrous year in many
respects. The Transitional Stabilisation Program had required savage cuts in
Government expenditure, a controlled devaluation of unmanageable domestic debt
accumulated in the past five years and a restructuring of costs in the economy
to bring them more into line with regional realities. It has been a tough year
for everyone, except a few individuals who seem to thrive no matter what
happens to the rest of us. One young Zimbabwean, drives around Harare in a
Bugatti – perhaps the most expensive car in the world. His friends all boast
luxury cars with brand names that put them in a similar bracket. Wealth with no
visible means of support.



But we must look beyond these disparities and problems
and recognise that our pain as a Nation has borne significant fruit: our
domestic debt is now a tiny fraction of what it was and is manageable, our
international debt has only increased marginally and is now being serviced to
some extent. Our civil service was costing us 100 per cent of all our taxes a
year ago, it now consumes 35 per cent, our fiscal deficit was massive and equal
to 40 per cent of the entire budget of Government, is now positive and we ended
2019 with nearly Z$2 billion in the bank. We have liberalised our foreign
exchange market and restored the viability of our export industries which are
now expanding rapidly with the result that we now have nearly US$1 billion in
our bank accounts and Government has a small surplus in the Treasury in hard
currency.



These are not small achievements and what annoys me is
that so little recognition has been given to the Government and the President
for their stance on these issues which have been very tough on the entire
nation. I am pleased that at least the International Monetary Fund found sufficient
reason at the year end to give us a cautious thumb up for what we achieved last
year despite some serious deviations.



So where are we going in the next decade? Is it more of
the same? We just cannot handle that plus the changes now being inflicted on us
by climate change. Everyone, and I mean everyone, not just those in power, must
accept and acknowledge this – we have to start doing things differently. For me
2019 has set the stage – now we must move on and decisively. I hear that the
MDC is planning a series of large scale demonstrations in early 2020. Is that
really the answer? Will it really bring change or simply lead to more street
violence. I agree with S B Moyo when he called for the Police to escort
demonstrations through the streets of our towns and make sure they do not spill
over into looting and violence. But we all know that these events can only be
managed so far.



Rather I think we need to work together to get things
right in our country. Is that so difficult to understand and accept? But it
will only happen if we put the country first in all that we do – and not the
pursuit of power or wealth.



Eddie Cross is an economist based in Harare, and a
founding member of the MDC

Op-Ed: A new decade has arrived, will it be Zimbabwe’s?

By Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe 



Two years ago, on November 18th, 2017,
hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans took to the streets in the spirit of
peace, unity and hope, calling for a new start. For a new Zimbabwe.



Coming into office a few days later, we committed to saying goodbye to the ways of the past, and to doing things differently. 



Read: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/zdnl-mc/2019/11/17/op-ed-two-years-on-since-mugabe-was-zimbabwes-president-whats-changed/">Op-Ed: Two years on since Mugabe was Zimbabwe’s president, what’s changed? </a>



I immediately moved to give the people their voices
back, opening new channels of communication between the people and their representatives.



Criticism of the government and the presidency would
no longer be taboo, but welcomed, even encouraged. I answered tough questions
on my Facebook page, as I promised to be a listening president.



We immediately went into an election, in which
opposition parties were free to campaign wherever, whenever and however they
liked. Even when I narrowly survived the Bulawayo bombing attack weeks before the
election, nothing changed. The campaign continued unimpeded.



On July 30th 2018, eight months after
coming to office, we held the freest and fairest elections in the country’s
history. While no electoral process is perfect, all international monitors
noted the new and free environment of the campaigns, and the vast improvement
in the electoral process. 



And we will continue to work closely with our partners
in the international community to improve and refine our democracy. To build a
resolute and open society, a free and fair country for all its citizens. 



Part of this is reforming antiquated
legislation and opening up the political space. We are repealing AIPPA,
replacing it with three new laws, consistent with the ethos of the new Zimbabwe: The
Freedom of Information bill, the Protection of Personal Information bill and
the Zimbabwe Media Commission bill.



Developed in consultation
with a diverse range of stakeholders, these laws meet international media
freedom standards and ensure the right to freedom of expression and freedom of
media. 



Just last week we removed the much maligned POSA, a remnant
of the old Zimbabwe that limited the right to protest, and replaced it with a new
Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill, devised with input from civil society and
our friends around the world. 



These have been key demands of the international community,
and should be interpreted as a sign of our commitment to reform. Yet the
impetus for change and reform comes from within. We are not reforming to
appease the nations of the world, but because reform is necessary to build the
future our people desire. Of course, there is still much work to do, but we are
heading in the right direction.



In November 2017, we also found ourselves mired in an
economic mess. A dark and dangerous fiscal tunnel, with no apparent light at
the end of it.



Today, we have a balanced budget for the first time in
living memory, and we have restored our own currency, enabling us to take
control of both our fiscal and monetary policy.&nbsp;




Of course, too many Zimbabweans still suffer, but
austerity is a painful but necessary part of the recovery process. Led by our
internationally recognised Minister of Finance, Professor Mthuli Ncube, we will
continue to restructure, revamp and rebuild our economy. We cannot and will not
hold up our hands.&nbsp; We must reform or perish.



The people of Zimbabwe know perseverance. Just because
the process is tough, we will never take our eyes off the prize. We must never give
up until we have achieved our goals: A middle income economy by 2030.



We are investing in this process like never
before.&nbsp; A process of wholesale economic,
political and social reforms.



I call on the nations of the
world to help us speed up this process, to support the people of Zimbabwe as we
undertake these painful but necessary reforms.



If the goal of sanctions is
to stimulate the reform process, their effect is the opposite. They slow down
our progress, inhibit our economic recovery and empower those who do not wish
to see Zimbabwe change. 



Their removal will therefore
be an important step on the road to a better future for all the people of this
country.



We as leaders have a duty to set a new course for our
people. &nbsp;A course where not only is our
fate in our own hands, but where no one is left behind. A course with a
balanced budget, an open political space, and a thriving economy providing the
jobs and opportunities our people deserve. 



I shall never stop working towards these goals and
will never waver in my determination to realise the dreams of all those who
took to the streets two years ago. I am confident that with patience,
perseverance and our unbending commitment to reform, we will get there.

Op-Ed: This is how Zimbabwe has changed since I became president: Emmerson Mnangagwa

By Chris Bishop, Head of Programming, CNBC Africa 



 It is two years this week since President Robert Gabriel Mugabe stepped down as leader of Zimbabwe. Surely the only question was why it took so long for him the retreat from the ashes of a political career, once so full of promise that left him as arguably one of the most loathed leaders in Africa.



Read: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/zdnl-mc/2019/11/17/op-ed-this-is-how-zimbabwe-has-changed-since-i-became-president-emmerson-mnangagwa/">Op-Ed: This is how Zimbabwe has changed since I became president: Emmerson Mnangagwa</a>



On November 21, the day of reckoning, tens of thousands were
out on the streets calling for Mugabe to go; in Parliament, many politicians
who had spent their careers on bended knee before the man himself, punched the
air in celebration. Business too had high hopes; the new man President Emmerson
Mnangagwa was more business minded and pragmatic people said &#8211; wasn’t he? Even
though he had been in cabinet, overseeing the steady fall of Zimbabwe, for the
best part of 40 years. Old wine in new bottles, said the cynics.



It didn’t start well. I recall reading Zimbabwe’s first post
Mugabe investment prospectus that the new President Mnangagwa was going to
present to us at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2018. It was a <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/zdnl-mc/2018/01/22/zimbabwes-offering/">thrown
together document</a> talking about how the government was going to compensate
farmers who lost their land – the loss that triggered the country’s rapid
decline – with scarce hard currency. It all seemed a little far -fetched at a
crucial time for the economy when investors were looking for certainty and bold
strokes to usher in revival.



Two years on, most of the Zimbabwe business people I speak
to as the Head of Programming of CNBC Africa appear more pessimistic than they
have been since the dark days of the early 2000s when hyperinflation signalled
the end for the Zimbabwe dollar and any vestige of credibility for the economy.
Inflation is about 300 % and on its way to Weimar Republic proportions, for the
second time in two decades. Even the well-heeled business types I know in
Harare have to struggle &nbsp;through power cuts, shortages and a dearth of
hard currency.



The finance minister economist Mthuli Ncube, bless him, has
been one appointment that stood out, in the Mnangagwa years, like a beacon. He
is a technocrat, with international experience, unsullied by the thuggish
politics of the last desperate years of Mugabe. He was also not a party man and
clearly is more at home looking over the books than standing with fist clenched
at political rallies.



Yet, how much power he is going to be allowed remains to be
seen. He is a man who needs to make painful cuts to help revive the economy,
yet, when he did so in the last budget, in the form of reducing MP allowances,
he was soon sent back to the drawing board.



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2019/01/23/zimbabwes-plan-to-woo-investors-in-davos/">Ncube
has told CNBC Africa a number of times</a> that he is prepared to reintroduce
the Zimbabwe dollar as if it were as easy as flicking a switch. But the
reintroduction of the small denomination notes in Harare this week, supposedly
to ease the cash crisis, smacks of tinkering. It is unlikely that the flimsy
notes will make much except for a few headlines. Many Zimbabweans have told me
they won’t trust the new notes and a black market has already sprung up. One
wonders whether it was an economic or a political decision.



All in all, a week may be a long time in politics, but the
last two years have been another grinding time of torpor for the Zimbabwe
economy. Investors appear to be fighting shy, the infrastructure is crumbling
and more and more skilled Zimbabweans are leaving the country in despair.



No more politics, give us business, most in Harare say to
me. That was what the end of the Mugabe era was supposed to mean.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Op-Ed: Two years on since Mugabe was Zimbabwe’s president, what’s changed?

HARARE, Nov 4 (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe police have given public sector workers permission to march for better pay on Wednesday in what is widely seen as a test of President Emmerson Mnangagwa&#8217;s willingness to tolerate dissent.



A notice received from police by the Apex Council of public sector unions said the protest could go ahead but also warned that police would stop the march if it turned violent.



&#8220;The regulating authority still reserves the right to stop the gathering should it turn out to a public order threat or violent. Police will monitor,&#8221; Oscar Mugomeri, police commander for Harare central district, wrote in the letter.



Mugomeri could not be reached for comment on Monday.



Unions say Mnangagwa&#8217;s government has not responded to demands for U.S. dollar-indexed salaries to cushion public sector workers against inflation that economists say reached 380% in September.



Daily life in Zimbabwe is getting harder, with prices of basic goods, fuel and electricity rising as hope fades for a quick economic recovery under Mnangagwa, who took power after the late Robert Mugabe was ousted in a coup in 2017.



Mnangagwa has banned several opposition protests and faces accusations that he is using Mugabe&#8217;s heavy-handed tactics.



Police have been on high alert since January, when fuel protests turned violent and at least a dozen people were killed during a security crackdown.



Unions want the lowest government employees paid the equivalent of $475 (7,251 Zimbabwe dollars) a month compared to the 1,023 Zimbabwe dollars they earn now.



Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, who projects the economy to contract by 6.5% this year, has said the government cannot meet the workers&#8217; demands.



Charles Chinosengwa, spokesman for the Apex Council, which represents 230,000 workers &#8211; excluding the health and security sectors &#8211; said unions were mobilising members from across Zimbabwe.



&#8220;This is strictly a labour issue. We don&#8217;t need support from politicians, we are saying hands off to politicians,&#8221; he said.



Shortages of foreign currency, fuel and power are among the most visible signs of a crisis that has revived memories of 2008, when hyperinflation wiped out savings and forced the government to abandon its currency.



Mnangagwa says Zimbabweans should be patient while his government pursues economic reforms, including gradually cutting subsidies on fuel and electricity and the re-introduction of the domestic currency.



$1 = 15.2654 Zimbabwe dollars 



(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

Zimbabwe police give unions green light for public sector protest, what you need to know…

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Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa addressed the nation at this year’s 2019 State of the Nation Address which he acknowledged deepening poverty in a country that has seen record inflation, rolling blackouts and cash shortages. Joseph Busha, Managing Director, JM BUSHA Investment Group and Batanai Matsika, Head Of Research At Morgan &#038; Co joins CNBC Africa to unpack some the key issues that the president looks to tackle.

Emmerson Mnangagwa calls for patience as he rebuilds Zim economy

It was a <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wef/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="World Economic Forum (WEF) (opens in a new tab)">World Economic Forum </a><a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wef/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="World Economic Forum (WEF) (opens in a new tab)">(WEF)</a> on Africa like no another as thousands of delegates from around the world descended on Cape Town, South Africa from the 4th-6th September. &nbsp;They were there to <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2019/09/05/how-to-garner-a-large-slice-of-africas-overcrowded-telecoms-market/">strike deals</a>, see what the <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2019/09/05/standard-chartered-banks-saif-malik-on-the-digital-era-of-banking-in-africa/">best of Africa had to offer</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/uncategorized/2019/09/10/wef-africa-debate-africas-economic-update/">how its economies are performing</a>. For example, <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2019/09/09/zimbabwe-is-working-on-currency-challenges-mnangagwa/">Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa</a>, <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2019/09/04/masisi-khama-is-not-botswana-and-neither-is-masisi/">Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi</a>, <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/uncategorized/2019/09/06/the-good-the-bad-and-ugly-zimbabwes-founding-father/">Namibia’s President Hage Geingob</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2019/09/04/finmin-mthuli-ncube-on-the-investment-case-for-zimbabwe/">Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube</a> went into detail during their interviews with CNBC Africa at the World Economic Forum Africa on how their Southern African counties are open for business.


		
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The delegates were also there to discuss and
devise polices on “<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/uncategorized/2019/09/12/why-siemens-believes-east-africa-is-an-investment-hotspot/">Shaping
Inclusive Growth</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/uncategorized/2019/09/10/visa-breakfast-panel-the-impact-of-4ir-on-the-state-of-female-entrepreneurship/">Shared
Futures in the Fourth Industrial Revolution</a>”, a subject both South Africa’s
<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2019/09/02/shaping-inclusive-growth-and-shared-futures-in-4ir-wef-africa-holds-media-briefing-ahead-of-wef-2019/">Finance
Minister Tito Mboweni</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2019/09/04/emir-sanusi-on-how-can-africa-achieve-inclusive-growth/">Nigeria’s
Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II</a> where particularly passionate about. 



But while inside the Cape Town
International Convention Centre (CITCC) things were cordial it was outside the
CITCC where the real action was happening. 



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2019/09/04/sa-women-protest-against-gbv-at-wefafrica19/">Hundreds
of protesters gathered</a> against gender-based violence, and members of the
Nigerian delegation departed on the first day of WEF Africa in protest against
the xenophobic violence that rocked the country. &nbsp;Even South Africa’s <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/uncategorized/2019/09/05/sa-president-addresses-gbv-afrophobic-violence/">President
Cyril Ramaphosa had to take time out of his busy schedule</a> at WEF Africa to
address the continent and investors on these matters. 


		
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Delegates at the event spoke out strongly against
Afrophobia during their interviews with CNBC Africa, such as: 



<ul><li><a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2019/09/04/anglogold-ashantis-sipho-pityana-on-how-sa-is-dealing-with-xenophobic-attacks/">AngloGold Ashanti’s Sipho Pityana on how SA is dealing with xenophobic attacks</a></li><li>South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2019/09/05/sa-embassy-shut-in-nigeria-buhari-still-to-visit/">SA embassy shut in Nigeria – Buhari still to visit</a></li><li>The African Union Commission’s <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2019/09/04/albert-muchanga-on-how-mutual-tolerance-is-key-in-trade-xenophobia-africas-shared-future/">&nbsp;Albert Muchanga: on how mutual tolerance is key in trade, xenophobia &amp; Africa’s shared future</a>.</li></ul>



On the final day WEF Africa was also marked
by the passing of an African villain and liberator, Zimbabwe’s former President
Robert Mugabe, both inside and outside the CITCC people remembered him. 



Such as:



<ul><li>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/uncategorized/2019/09/06/namibian-president-geingob-on-the-good-the-bad-and-ugly-zimbabwes-founding-father/">Namibian
president Geingob on the good, the bad and ugly: Zimbabwe’s founding father</a></li><li><a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2019/09/06/zanu-pf-spokesperson-mandaza-reflects-on-mugabes-contribution-to-zimbabwes-liberation-struggle/">Zanu-PF
Spokesperson Mandaza reflects on Mugabe’s contribution to Zimbabwe’s liberation
struggle</a></li><li><a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2019/09/06/tiamiyou-radji-on-mugabe-the-fight-he-fought-has-yielded-freedom-for-us/">Tiamiyou
Radji on Mugabe: “The fight he fought has yielded freedom for us”</a></li></ul>

Missed the World Economic Forum (WEF) Africa 2019? Here are all the highlights

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tapiwa-chagonda-554954">Tapiwa Chagonda</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-johannesburg-1275">University of Johannesburg</a>

Zimbabwe is going through its worst socio-economic and political crisis in two decades. Crippling daily power outages of <a href="https://www.biznews.com/africa/2019/08/05/zimbabwe-tipping-point-economic-crisis">up to 18 hours</a> and erratic supply of clean water are just some of the most obvious signs. Meanwhile, an inflation rate of over 500% has put the prices of basic goods beyond the reach of most people.

Hopes that the end of President Robert Mugabe’s ruinous rule in November 2017 would help put the country on a new path of peace and prosperity have long <a href="https://theconversation.com/fantasy-that-mnangagwa-would-fix-zimbabwe-now-fully-exposed-110197">dissipated</a>. Efforts by his successor President Emmerson Mnangagwa to <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/zimbabwe-is-open-for-business-says-mnangagwa-12913367">attract foreign investors</a>, who are critical in reviving Zimbabwe’s ailing economy, have also largely failed.

The situation has not been helped by the rejection of the 2018 presidential election results by the main opposition party. The Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC-A) claims the governing Zanu-PF stole the elections even though the results were <a href="https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/africa/Regional-observers-Zimbabwe-election-free-and-fair/4552902-4692254-e75fje/index.html">endorsed</a> as free and fair by the African Union and Southern African Development Community (SADC). Only the European Union observers were somewhat circumspect <a href="https://www.news24.com/Africa/Zimbabwe/eu-observers-say-zimbabwe-election-fell-short-on-fairness-20181010">in their assessment</a>. 

<hr>

 
 
 Read more:
 <a href="http://theconversation.com/fantasy-that-mnangagwa-would-fix-zimbabwe-now-fully-exposed-110197">Fantasy that Mnangagwa would fix Zimbabwe now fully exposed</a>
 
 

<hr>


The opposition alliance has been calling for Mnangagwa’s government to relinquish power, and a <a href="https://www.openparly.co.zw/chamisa-calls-for-national-trasitional-authority/">national transitional authority</a> appointed to run the country for at least two years, or until the 2023 general elections.

How individuals who will sit on the national transitional authority will be chosen and by whom, is not clear. But the party and <a href="https://www.theindependent.co.zw/2019/03/01/towards-the-national-transitional-authority/">some academics</a> believe such a transitional authority would normalise Zimbabwe’s highly polarised political situation and help it revive its relations with the West.

The opposition may have a point on re-engagement with the West. This is key to helping end the investment drought that started in earnest <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.908.3003&amp;rep=rep1&amp;type=pdf">between 2000 and 2003</a> under sanctions imposed by Western countries for human rights violations linked to Zanu-PF’s violent land reform seizures and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/jun/03/zimbabwe.andrewmeldrum">election rigging</a>.

But the transitional authority idea is doomed to fail because of lack of buy-in by Zanu-PF. So, it’s time to consider a more viable alternative path to peace for Zimbabwe.

<h2>Clamping down</h2>

For now, the government has dismissed talk of a transitional authority as unconstitutional. Instead, in May it launched its own platform, called the <a href="https://www.panafricanvisions.com/2019/zimbabwe-mnangagwa-launches-the-political-actors-dialogue-to-address-long-term-economic-challenges/">Political Actors Dialogue</a>. The forum comprises 17 small political parties that participated in the 2018 elections. 

The main opposition party is boycotting the process on grounds that Mnangagwa is an illegitimate president. Recently, it attempted to <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=5&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwi-gdPunLfkAhXfSBUIHdWZCeIQFjAEegQIBBAB&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-africa-49366224&amp;usg=AOvVaw0fkr2f1y4BV0-4W2SlJHGY">embark on public protests</a> in the hope of bringing the government to its knees. The protests fell flat after being blocked by the courts and the police.

It boggles the mind why the MDC-A, led by Nelson Chamisa, insists on marches when previous attempts were crushed with brute force. These led to deaths in <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=21&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwingbiQ87TkAhVsZhUIHWexAsIQFjAUegQICBAB&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news24.com%2FAfrica%2FZimbabwe%2Fzimbabwean-generals-deny-troops-shot-and-killed-6-protesters-20181113&amp;usg=AOvVaw02nyk1uLwat64nJso2EImF">August 2018</a> and <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwicyIfl87TkAhV9SBUIHXzrAC4QFjAAegQIAhAB&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fmg.co.za%2Farticle%2F2019-01-30-zim-army-responsible-for-murders-rapes-report&amp;usg=AOvVaw1fiTJ2kraC9xNiMyQ4TBM6">January 2019</a>. 

The Zanu-PF regime has always clamped down heavily on perceived threats to its rule since 1980. Why then does the MDC-A continue to endanger people’s lives through this deadly route as a way of resolving Zimbabwe’s socio-economic and political crises?

I firmly believe that the opposition needs to change tack and focus on entering into dialogue with the government. 

<h2>Dialogue and unity government</h2>

Zimbabwe’s ongoing crisis requires the two leading political protagonists &#8211; Mnangagwa and Chamisa &#8211; to enter into serious dialogue. Both leaders need to soften their hard-line stances towards each other and put the people of Zimbabwe first.

There’s a precedent for this. Ten years ago, then South African President Thabo Mbeki managed to bring then President Mugabe and Movement for Democratic Change opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=11&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiMheeVnrfkAhVXShUIHeBIDw04ChAWMAB6BAgAEAE&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.france24.com%2Fen%2F20080721-mbeki-harare-mediate-talks-zimbabwe-political-crisis&amp;usg=AOvVaw2pLPeTVwBEVrH2TSAcW5e3">negotiation table</a>. 

The talks culminated in the formation of the government of national unity that ran Zimbabwe from February 2009 to July 2013, with Mugabe as the President and Tsvangirai as the Prime Minister. The unity government was fairly successful and managed to <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=10&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiv9PjanrfkAhUUTBUIHQR0D0cQFjAJegQIABAB&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindependent.co.zw%2F2013%2F07%2F11%2Freflecting-on-positive-zimbabwe-gnu-moments%2F&amp;usg=AOvVaw25plQQHFWt-5PTjI9_Fi6J">stabilise the economy</a>.

Two decades of suffering have shown that it is not the threat of protests or sanctions from the West that can move Zanu-PF to change, but neighbouring countries under the aegis of <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=11&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwia1fucj7HkAhWnRhUIHcY8Dvc4ChAWMAB6BAgAEAI&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Flibrary.fes.de%2Fpdf-files%2Fbueros%2Fmosambik%2F07874.pdf&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PSzn2eTrgI53Cnw2yrI2t">SADC</a>. South Africa is pivotal in this regard as the region’s strongest economic and military power. 

It’s time to experiment with a second government of national unity for Zimbabwe. But for this to happen, SADC and South Africa must have the appetite to intervene in Zimbabwe. This is currently lacking. 

<h2>Dialogue in Zimbabwe’s history</h2>

Historically, dialogue has moved Zimbabwe forward as a nation during its darkest hours. 

<ul>
<li>A year before independence in 1980, battle-hardened guerrilla commanders agreed to talk to the then Rhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Smith, to end Zimbabwe’s liberation war even though they were convinced that they were winning. </li>
<li>In 1987 Joshua Nkomo, who was the leader of the main opposition party, the Zimbabwean African People’s Union, agreed to talk to his political nemesis, then Prime Minister Mugabe. Yet before this, he had been hounded out of the country by Mugabe in the mid-80s, and <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=zi-tWekXbD8C&amp;pg=PA19&amp;lpg=PA19&amp;dq=%22the+early+rain+which+washes+away+the+chaff+before+the+spring+rains%22&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=dWX2SIUj7r&amp;sig=0aDLpmmQfN93e_RNJuKcBmGGEYI&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwioi-joj6LWAhWE7hoKHRF_C7wQ6AEIOTAD#v=onepage&amp;q=%22the%20early%20rain%20which%20washes%20away%20the%20chaff%20before%20the%20spring%20rains%22&amp;f=false">thousands of his supporters killed</a>. </li>
<li>More recently in 2009, Morgan Tsvangirai agreed to enter into a unity government with Mugabe, despite winning the first round of the <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2012-08-10-00-zim-2008-election-taken-by-a-gun-not-a-pen">2008 elections</a>. The unity government briefly resuscitated and stabilised Zimbabwe’s fragile economy. Hyperinflation was tamed, basic commodities became available again and people regained purchasing power.</li>
</ul>

<h2>The way forward</h2>

Given the MDC-A’s positive contribution during its brief stint in the 2009-2013 unity government, the party should be expending its energies on dialogue. The main opposition party can enter into a second government of national unity, but continue building and strengthening its own support.

In the same vein, Zanu-PF also needs to realise that without the involvement of the MDC-A, its attempts to revive the economy and end the strife in the country, on its own terms, are destined to fail.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122726/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tapiwa-chagonda-554954">Tapiwa Chagonda</a>, Associate Professor of Sociology, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-johannesburg-1275">University of Johannesburg</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/zimbabwes-deepening-crisis-time-for-second-government-of-national-unity-122726">original article</a>.

Zimbabwe’s deepening crisis: Here’s why it’s time for a second government of national unity

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Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa was at WEF Africa to send the message that the Southern African nation is open for business. He spoke to CNBC Africa’s Fifi Peters on this and dealing with its currency crisis.

Zimbabwe is working on currency challenges – Mnangagwa

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Phelekezela Mphoko, a former deputy to ousted Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe, was charged on Wednesday with criminal abuse of office, his lawyer said, in the latest move by the new anti-corruption commission.



The court freed Mphoko on bail. He denies all the charges, his lawyer Zibusiso Ncube said.



Mphoko lost his vice presidential post when a military coup forced Mugabe to resign in 2017 after 37 years in power and led to presidential elections won by longtime Mugabe associate Emmerson Mnangagwa.



Ncube said Mphoko was being accused of using his position to force police to release from their custody suspects who were facing corruption charges in 2016. The ex-vice president also faces a lesser charge of obstructing justice, Ncube said.



A new Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission appointed in July was given the power to arrest suspects, but critics question whether it will be effective.



A previous anti-graft agency failed to tackle corruption among the political elite and many Zimbabweans believe those behind corruption are politically connected and may not be touched.



The commission last month charged a sitting cabinet minister, Prisca Mupfumira, with corruption involving $95 million. Mupfumira was early this month fired from her tourism ministry job.



Mupfumira was the first senior government official to be interrogated by the commission, which was appointed by Mnangagwa after he promised tough action against graft.



Mphoko could be jailed up to 15 years, with an option of paying a fine, if found guilty of criminal abuse of office.



He was granted 1,000 Zimbabwe dollars ($98) bail and ordered to surrender his passport with the court. He will return to court on Sept. 4 when state prosecutors will decide whether they are ready to proceed to trial.



Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Mark Heinrich

Zimbabwe charges former Mugabe deputy, here’s why

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe’s main opposition party is planning street demonstrations next week to protest against the government’s handling of the economy, which is mired in its worst crisis in a decade and has plunged most citizens into poverty.



The southern African nation is enduring shortages of foreign currency, fuel and bread as well as 18-hour power cuts. The power outages threaten mining and industrial output and have upended lives. [nL8N24X7EO]



The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) will hold marches in the capital on Aug. 16 against corruption, unemployment and power and fuel shortages and a deteriorating economy, the party said in a notice to the police dated Aug. 5.



“The national challenges are a result of a governance and legitimacy crisis arising primarily out of the disputed election of July 2018,” national organising secretary Amos Chibaya said in the notice, seen by Reuters.



The departure of long-time leader Robert Mugabe after a coup in 2017 was greeted with euphoria and hope, but this has gradually turned to despair as his successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has failed to revive the economy or usher in meaningful political reforms.



Chibaya said demonstrators would present a petition to parliament after next week’s march.



Luke Tamborinyoka, the MDC deputy spokesman, confirmed the party had notified the police, adding that “we hope the police will allow us to exercise our constitutional right”.



Police spokesman Paul Nyathi said he could not immediately comment.



The MDC does not recognise Mnangagwa’s presidency and maintains that he rigged last year’s vote, charges that the 76-year-old leader denies. Last week, MDC legislators boycotted the mid-term budget statement in parliament because Mnangagwa was present.



The last big protest in Zimbabwe, organised by the main labour union in January against a sharp fuel hike, turned deadly after it spilled onto the streets and was met by an army clampdown in which more than a dozen people died. [nL8N1ZE26M]



Everyday life is getting increasingly tough, with the prices of basic goods spiralling and medical supplies in short supply. Motorists wait for hours to fill up at fuel stations despite fuel prices having gone up more than 500% this year.



Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Frances Kerry

Zimbabwe’s opposition MDC party is planning to protest next week, here’s why

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe will repeal its indigenisation and economic empowerment legislation dealing with ownership of foreign-controlled companies and replace it with a new empowerment law, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said on Thursday.



Addressing parliament, Ncube also said foreign investors can now take majority stakes in the platinum and diamond sectors.



The empowerment law adopted in 2008 under Robert Mugabe forced foreign-owned businesses including mines to cede at least 51% shares of their local operations to black Zimbabweans.



In a bid to attract investment, President Emmerson Mnangagwa last year removed these requirements for other minerals except diamonds and platinum, which his government said were strategically important.



Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Hugh Lawson

Emmerson Mnangagwa

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Zimbabwe’s deepening crisis: Here’s why it’s time for a second government of national unity

Zimbabwe is working on currency challenges – Mnangagwa

Zimbabwe charges former Mugabe deputy, here’s why

Zimbabwe’s opposition MDC party is planning to protest next week, here’s why

Zimbabwe to repeal empowerment law, what you need to know

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Emmerson Mnangagwa

Zimbabwe businesses closed, streets deserted on day of protests

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