By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Hope of a temporary reprieve from the economic upheaval in Zimbabwe was dashed on Monday as it emerged that a request by Harare last December for a $1.2 billion loan was rejected.
South Africa rejected the request for an emergency loan the Zimbabwean government had hoped would help stabilise the economy and resolve fuel shortages.
South Africa did not have “that kind of money”, a Treasury spokesman told the BBC.
A fuel price hike imposed shortly after the request was rejected has led to violent clashes. The opposition says four of its Members of Parliament (MPs) have been detained.
The government blamed the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) for stoking the violence.
But MDC leader Nelson Chamisa denied this and told the BBC that many of its members have been arrested, including the four MPs.
At least 12 people have been killed in the crackdown on the protests, according to human rights groups.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has cut short his tour of Russia and Asian countries and announced he will not attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland this week.
Zimbabwe is in the grip of a national strike and street protests over shortages of fuel, foreign exchange (forex), and food.
On January 13, the government raised the official price of petrol 150 per cent to $3.33 per litre, making it the world’s most expensive when compared to prices quoted by GlobalPetrolPrices.com.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), which represents most labour unions in the country, responded by calling a national strike that began on January 14.
Scraping for cash
In the maelstrom of decades of economic degradation, the single most valuable asset to Zimbabweans today is cash.
Many shops and factories have shut their doors because of a lack of customers. Those still in business are open to haggling over prices to secure hard currency.
Doctors staged a six-week strike to demand improved working conditions and that their salaries be paid in cash. The strike was called off on January 10, but it could take months to clear operation backlogs.
Teachers and other public workers warn that they will down tools unless the government pays them in cash.
United States dollars are highly prized in Zimbabwe. In theory, the local “bond notes” that banks dispense are equal to the U.S. currency – but in reality they buy much less.
Goods paid for electronically cost as much as four-and-a-half times more than if cash were used. Retailers resort to a dual-pricing policy and offering cash discounts, defying the government’s threats to act against them.
Mnangagwa’s announcement of the steep increase in fuel price on January 13 sparked angry protests in the capital, Harare, and the south-western city of Bulawayo.
He tweeted on January 20 that “in light of the economic situation, I will be returning home after a highly productive week of bilateral trade and investment meetings.
“We will be ably represented in Davos by Minister of Finance, Mthuli Ncube. The first priority is to get Zimbabwe calm, stable and working again.”
Heavy crackdown on protesters
Police have been violently cracking down on the demonstrations against the fuel price rise, with reports of door-to-door searches and use of live ammunition.
The United Nations has urged Harare to halt the “excessive use of force” by police. But the government insisted on January 20 the actions of the security forces are just “a foretaste of things to come”.
News of the violent crackdown emerged despite the country’s internet, including social media and messaging apps, being cut off.
In an interview with the state-owned Sunday Mail newspaper, Mnangagwa’s spokesman, George Charamba, blamed the MDC for the violence that has accompanied the protests.
“The MDC leadership has been consistently pushing out the message that they will use violent street action to overturn the results of [last year’s] ballot,” he said.
The MDC rejected a court ruling in last August that confirmed that Mnangagwa had beaten Chamisa.
Mnangagwa says fuel price raised to check illegal trading
The price rise is aimed at tackling shortages caused by an increase in fuel use and “rampant” illegal trading, Mnangagwa explained.
But many Zimbabweans, worn down by years of economic hardship, suddenly found they could not even afford the bus fare to work.
They feel that Mnangagwa is failing to live up to his promises following his election last year in disputed polls.
He has been struggling to revive the economy, which is experiencing high inflation while wages have stagnated.
Access to the internet was intermittent throughout last week, but people found they were unable to use social media and the WhatsApp messaging platform, now a common way to share news, the BBC reports.
It is unclear how many people in Zimbabwe actually received Mnangagwa’s message on Twitter, since they have no access to social media after the government this week ordered the country’s biggest mobile operator to shut down service, according to CNN.
Charamba said on January 19 the shutdown is meant to limit access to sites like WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook, which protesters were using to coordinate demonstrations.
Government blames violence on rogue elements
Security forces shot five people dead in Harare on January 16 and wounded another 25 in Harare. Human rights organisations blamed the police and the army for the violence.
Zimbabwe accused “rogue elements” of inciting violence against protesters, with the security forces placing the blame on “rogue elements” who they said had stolen army uniforms.
CNN reports that there was an increase in army patrols and in the number of armed soldiers throughout Harare on January 20 after Charamba told state-controlled media the government would “not stand by while such narrow interests play out so violently.”
“The response so far is just a foretaste of things to come,” he warned.
Mnangagwa joins other world leaders who will not attend the World Economic Forum this week.
United States President, Donald Trump, will not attend and has scaled down the U.S. delegation. British Prime Minister, Theresa May, canceled her visit to focus on the Brexit plan.
French President Emmanuel Macron — who, like Mnangagwa, is trying to quell violent street protests — is also skipping the forum, as are Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.