‘Should we come to work or should we stay at home?’
June 8th, 2005
… I have heard that question about 100 times today! My decision is a simple one. The message for a stayaway has been called, and so I shall not attend work. End of story! It is incredible to me that the same people who whinge and complain about the way the county is going downhill, question whether they should join in and sta
nd up in protest! I suppose it is always easier to look to someone else to do the hard things in life.
For weeks people have been reporting about the fuel situation. We have now reached a CRITICAL FUEL CRISES. Friends have told me that they have had to pay up to $50 000 per litre on the black market when the pump price is about $3500. How can we possibly sustain that? There is a queue outside every service station just on the hope that they will get a delivery. People simply park their cars and go. There are a few that have people sitting in them but for the most part, they are empty – literally! When the odd delivery arrives, chaos breaks out. Cars, mini buses, taxies, motorbikes, people with containers and of course riot police all make up the scene. It is a battle to see who can push past first.
I have under a quarter tank of fuel left in my car. I will be able to get to work and back for a few days and then that will be it. I cannot afford black market fuel and besides, I have no idea where to get it!
Another friend phoned me in a panic earlier today. She said that the police are in the process of raiding the market at the City Hall again. This is where Bulawayo’s beloved flower sellers are. The last I knew they were gone, but it seems they returned and have been removed again. She tells me that on Monday the police raided the vegetable market on the other side of the City Hall. Her friend lost all of her stock that she was selling – $1.1 million dollars of fruit and vegetables. She pays rental for the stand she operates from and has a valid licence to sell her goods. This is pure, unadulterated theft. But then, why should the police do an honest days work, when they have orders from above to spend their days looting!
So, what will a two-day stay away achieve? Many say that it is not long enough, so what is the point. This is a time where together, the people of Zimbabwe can relay a message to mugabe and the rest of the world. We cannot continue in a downward spiral. Oh, and did I mention that ZESA (Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority) have announced that they are going to hike up fees by 600% at the beginning of July. For goodness sake! How many reasons do we need to stay at home?
