The MDC acting President, Hon. Engineer Elias Mudzuri, toured banks and the now moribund industries in the once-thriving Southerton industrial area in Harare.
The tour exposed that the country remains mired in serious economic challenges with a few months before the next election, despite the new administration’s promise that it was making the economy its main priority and was tackling the problems facing the people.
Acting president Mudzuri, accompanied by deputy national chairman Morgan Komichi and youth assembly secretary-general Lovemore Chinoputsa, toured four banks in the Southerton area, where some Zimbabweans in bank queues expressed concern that there was no respite to the cash crunch in the country, despite assurances from the new administration that it was addressing the economic crisis in the country. Other bank clients complained that some banks had reduced the withdrawal limit to only $50 per week, with the amount being dispensed in coins that were difficult to move around with.
The acting MDC leader also toured some industries such as Bak Logistics complex that have now been reduced to empty shells because there is no longer any productivity taking place in the country. He also spoke to some vendors selling their wares in the Southerton area, who complained that the liquidity crunch and the state of the economy had seriously affected their business.
Industrialists, vendors and some Zimbabweans in the bank queues told the acting MDC leader that they are placing their hope in the next election. They said they were banking on the record of President Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC in the inclusive government, where the party and its leader had shown they could deliver positive change in the lives of the people.
Engineer Mudzuri urged the people to register to vote in the next election as it was only their vote that could bring positive change in their lives. He said he had been directed by president Tsvangirai to make the tour and see how the people were managing in the hostile economic environment.
President Tsvangirai is currently on his routine break from work on medical grounds following his public disclosure in 2016 that he was suffering from cancer of the colon.
Last week, he announced that Engineer Mudzuri is acting President until his return.
Luke Tamborinyoka
Presidential Spokesperson and Director of Communications
Movement for Democratic Change