Zimbabwean opposition official and former finance minister
Tendai Biti has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene in the country’s
economic and political crisis, which has left three people dead.
The country went into a violent shutdown after the biggest
trade union called a strike against a more than 100% increase in the price of
fuel to a staggering $3.11 (R42.83) per litre for diesel, and $3.33 for petrol.
This is more than three times the price of petrol in SA. The
fuel hike gave Zimbabwe, one of the poorest countries in the world, the dubious
honour of having the highest fuel prices in the world, heaping more misery on a
population struggling with a shortage of foreign exchange that has seen the
country run short of basics such as bread.
Zimbabwe’s information minister Monica Mutsvangwa on
Tuesday said the three people killed included a police officer.
As the biggest country in the Southern African Development
Community (Sadc), SA was "the big brother. It cannot pretend to be
otherwise," Biti said in an interview on Tuesday.
"I don’t know how many dead bodies Sadc wants to see
before they will move on what is clearly a crisis. The lives of African people
matter, and they should matter to the Sadc.
Biti is the deputy national chair of the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), which the Zimbabwean government has blamed for the
latest violence.
The MDC unsuccessfully challenged the outcome of elections
held in July 2018, alleging that the governing Zanu-PF victory had been secured
via vote rigging.
Emmerson Mnangagwa, who seized power from Robert Mugabe
with the help of the army in 2017, was declared the winner of the presidential
race with 50.8% of the vote, compared to 44.3% for MDC leader Nelson Chamisa.
Mnangagwa was in Russia on Tuesday to meet President
Vladimir Putin and told state-owned RIA Novosti news agency that he would ask
for loans from Russia.
Mnangagwa did not say how much Zimbabwe wanted to borrow,
and encouraged Russian companies to explore for gas and oil in the country.
He is also scheduled to attend the World Economic Forum in
Davos, Switzerland next week.
"The bottom line is that we are being led by a rogue
regime, following a sham election," Biti said. Ramaphosa "and his
fellow Sadc member presidents must show leadership here."
The crisis in Zimbabwe was not a foreign-affairs issue for
SA because the consequences "will be directly visited" on the
country, he said.
Ramaphosa met with Chamisa just over two weeks ago. The
opposition leader said he had sought the SA leader’s help in addressing
Zimbabwe’s economic crisis.
While Chamisa posted about the meeting on Twitter, the
presidency did not issue any statement about it, and has not commented on calls
for Ramaphosa and the Sadc to force the Zimbabwean government to accept
mediation, referring queries to the department of international relations &
co-operation.
Protesters barricaded roads and burned tyres in Zimbabwe on
Monday January 14 2018 as anger over the worst economic crisis in decades
spilled onto the streets.
Neither the department, nor the Sadc responded to requests
for comment.
The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights said
on Tuesday that 13 people had sustained gunshot wounds in and around Harare. At
least 200 people were arrested.
Zimbabwe’s mobile phone networks and internet were
partially shut down, with one industry source saying the systems had been
jammed, with many users complaining of limited access.
Zimbabwe's economy has been in crisis since hyperinflation
wiped out savings between 2007 and 2009, when the Zimbabwean dollar was
abandoned in favour of the US currency.
Zimbabweans mainly rely on electronic payments as US dollar
notes are in short supply. The local "bond note" currency, introduced
in 2016, is little trusted and falling in value.
AFP
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