News / Press Release
Back to 2008 - Zimbabwe Vigil Diary: 6th October 2018
07 Oct 2018 at 14:22hrs | Views
How time flies. Here we are again with hyperinflation, emptying shelves and no real money: just as predicted when Zanu PF cast off the constraints of coalition government 5 years ago and started feeding again.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, chastened by his look into the government ledgers, is visiting Britain in a desperate bid to raise money - Zimbabwe having been rebuffed by China, tired of non-performing loans. The Vigil wishes Ncube the best of luck.
Apart from talks with the British government and prospective investors, the minister is scheduled to speak on Monday at the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House in London, where the Vigil has staged many protests against Zanu PF representatives, notably Ncube's predecessor Chinamasa.
The new minister is, we believe, a non-party figure. So this time we will be taking the day off, giving him the benefit of the doubt. We too want investment in our country.
But Ncube's new tax on electronic money transactions shows how desperate the Zimbabwean government is. The MDC describes it as a tax on the poor. Ncube's task now is to ensure that the rich share the burden and spare us the sight of a $3 million Bugati car being unloaded at Robert Mugabe International Airport.
The diaspora watches anxiously as the government tries to deal with the the deteriorating financial situation, though we are encouraged by signs of a more responsive attitude by the authorities on some fronts. We were astonished when the new Minister of Health and Childcare, Dr Obadiah Moyo, promptly flew to Bulawayo to look into a public health question brought to his attention by human rights activists. 'Burombo flats has got burst pipes with running raw sewage, sometimes running through the houses', he was told.
Another heartening sign of a change in behaviour is suggested by a court decision ordering the state to pay $150,000 to the human rights activist Jestina Mukoko for damages after she was abducted in 2008 and tortured by state security agents.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, chastened by his look into the government ledgers, is visiting Britain in a desperate bid to raise money - Zimbabwe having been rebuffed by China, tired of non-performing loans. The Vigil wishes Ncube the best of luck.
Apart from talks with the British government and prospective investors, the minister is scheduled to speak on Monday at the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House in London, where the Vigil has staged many protests against Zanu PF representatives, notably Ncube's predecessor Chinamasa.
The new minister is, we believe, a non-party figure. So this time we will be taking the day off, giving him the benefit of the doubt. We too want investment in our country.
But Ncube's new tax on electronic money transactions shows how desperate the Zimbabwean government is. The MDC describes it as a tax on the poor. Ncube's task now is to ensure that the rich share the burden and spare us the sight of a $3 million Bugati car being unloaded at Robert Mugabe International Airport.
The diaspora watches anxiously as the government tries to deal with the the deteriorating financial situation, though we are encouraged by signs of a more responsive attitude by the authorities on some fronts. We were astonished when the new Minister of Health and Childcare, Dr Obadiah Moyo, promptly flew to Bulawayo to look into a public health question brought to his attention by human rights activists. 'Burombo flats has got burst pipes with running raw sewage, sometimes running through the houses', he was told.
Another heartening sign of a change in behaviour is suggested by a court decision ordering the state to pay $150,000 to the human rights activist Jestina Mukoko for damages after she was abducted in 2008 and tortured by state security agents.
Source - Zimbabwe Vigil
