By Lloyd Takawira
The much hyped Mega Shutdown that was set to take place today (Tuesday) looks unlikely as heavily armed Police have besieged the Capital Harare and all major roads towards the city.
Private and public sector workers as well as college students planned to take to the streets with the rest of the civil service for a strike that they allege was against the crippling of essential services at the backdrop of starting of the school calendar today.
Government workers last week rejected an offer by the government to double their wages and the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) said it was planning “mother-of-all” demonstrations to press government to address key national issues and reverse “anti-poor people policies”.
“Government must be taught economic volatility. Economic and political frustration is increasing every day. It’s better they engage people and they give us what we are worth because we are offering our labour to the country for the benefit of the nation and we need solidarity from everybody, the kids the parents and everybody out there,” one of the Unions Leaders said
Munyaradzi Gwisai, of the International Socialist Organisation in Zimbabwe, had called on all workers to have a joint demonstration .
“We now need a united front of all victims of austerity to lead the resistance against austerity and in the hands of the junta government.
“There is no bigger army than the power of the workers and citizens,” Gwisai said.
Irked by the increase in college fees against poor salaries, Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) had also warned it will be taking to the streets to protest what it called attempts to push them out of school.
However as early 6 am ,the Central Business District of Harare was already flooded with armed riot police officers patrolling the street’s.
A Police water canister vehicle escorted by an overcrowded police UD truck was patrolling the streets with a voice-over microphone telling people’s to ignore the purported strike
