News / National
Tsvangirai to lead demo against Mugabe
13 Apr 2016 at 08:25hrs | Views
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will tomorrow lead the planned MDC's "mother of all mass demonstrations" against President Robert Mugabe to press for the promised 2,2 million jobs and also demand answers on the whereabouts of the $15 billion missing diamond revenue.
In an interview with the Daily News yesterday, MDC secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora said despite delays from the police in granting them permission to stage the demonstrations, the party's leader will lead from the front.
"With or without their permission, we are going ahead with our demonstrations. President Tsvangirai is going to attend the demonstration and he will address people at the end of our march at Africa Unity Square," Mwonzora said.
A planned prayer meeting by civil society and opposition political parties in March 2007 ended up bloody after prominent personalities, including Tsvangirai were beaten by the country's police and, although the memories are still fresh, Mwonzora said the mass demonstrations will proceed.
"We are going ahead with the demonstration although the police are trying to discourage us. We are not worried about the situation, I am yet to see anybody who has the foolishness of beating 10 000 people.
"After our demonstration on Thursday, the protests will cascade to other provinces. We are not seeing anything rational to come from the Zanu PF government," said Mwonzora.
Among a litany of demands, the MDC is pressuring the governing party to create 2,2 million new jobs as espoused in its 2013 election manifesto and also for the governing party to come clean on the missing $15 billion diamond revenue.
With widespread hunger, the MDC is also demanding equitable and non-partisan distribution of food aid.
Experts say Zimbabwe has once again hit the depths of humanitarian and economic despair that were last experienced in 2008, when the country's seemingly unending political crisis precipitated an economic meltdown of monumental proportions — which culminated in the death of the Zimbabwe dollar and mass emigrations.
What makes the country's situation worse is that in the urban areas, most of the unemployed and educated youths are selling an assortment of products, including cell phone recharge cards, vegetables, clothes, traditional herbs and skin lightening creams.
In an interview with the Daily News yesterday, MDC secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora said despite delays from the police in granting them permission to stage the demonstrations, the party's leader will lead from the front.
"With or without their permission, we are going ahead with our demonstrations. President Tsvangirai is going to attend the demonstration and he will address people at the end of our march at Africa Unity Square," Mwonzora said.
A planned prayer meeting by civil society and opposition political parties in March 2007 ended up bloody after prominent personalities, including Tsvangirai were beaten by the country's police and, although the memories are still fresh, Mwonzora said the mass demonstrations will proceed.
"We are going ahead with the demonstration although the police are trying to discourage us. We are not worried about the situation, I am yet to see anybody who has the foolishness of beating 10 000 people.
Among a litany of demands, the MDC is pressuring the governing party to create 2,2 million new jobs as espoused in its 2013 election manifesto and also for the governing party to come clean on the missing $15 billion diamond revenue.
With widespread hunger, the MDC is also demanding equitable and non-partisan distribution of food aid.
Experts say Zimbabwe has once again hit the depths of humanitarian and economic despair that were last experienced in 2008, when the country's seemingly unending political crisis precipitated an economic meltdown of monumental proportions — which culminated in the death of the Zimbabwe dollar and mass emigrations.
What makes the country's situation worse is that in the urban areas, most of the unemployed and educated youths are selling an assortment of products, including cell phone recharge cards, vegetables, clothes, traditional herbs and skin lightening creams.
Source - dailynews
