ZIMBABWE opposition leader of Zimbabwe People First, Joice Mujuru will be holding a rally in South Africa’s capital on the 17 of this month, as pressure mounts on President Robert Mugabe to resign.
The rally, which will be held in Mamelodi, is expected to largely about the on government’s controversial import ban on some basic goods, which have hit those in SA particularly hard and the planned introduction of bond notes.
Efforts to get a comment from Mujuru’s party were unsuccessful but the poster being circulated by the party reads: “Diaspora says no to bond notes . . . no to banning import of basic commodities”.
Zimbabwe has been rocked by a series of protests both within its borders and in the Diaspora, particularly in SA through the introduced import restrictions on basic commodities through Statutory Instrument 64 as a measure to support local manufacturers, two month ago.
This sparked a wave of protests, where a Zimbabwe Revenue Authority warehouse was set on fire, resulting in the continent’s busiest border post being temporarily shut down.
Mujuru, who says she is an informal trader herself has approached the Zimbabwean High Court to force the government to reverse the regulation.
The introduction of bond notes is also a bone of contention and Zimbabweans in South Africa have staged a number of demos, calling for president Robert Mugabe to resign.Mujuru has been on a whirlwind tour of the country’s provinces drumming up support for her party, having been part of the last Friday’s demonstration, where dozens of opposition parties staged a bloody demonstration in the capital Harare.Before coming to SA Mujuru is expected to hold another rally in Mashonaland Central a traditional, Zanu-PF stronghold on September 3, before coming to Mzansi, which is largely anti-Zanu PF. – Patience Rusere
