Tendai Matunhu
The much hyped national shutdown by the MDC and other opposition elements including Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) which has been making rounds on social media has flopped.
The shutdown calls by the opposition activists had been slated for five days starting from 3 to 7 June 2019.
People have not heeded to this call as it was businesses as usual in Harare and surrounding areas. Children also freely went to their respective schools.
ARTUZ wrote a message which went viral on social media saying, “Monday 3 June to Wednesday 5 June 2019. No USD no work. We demand our $500 salaries in USD or Interbank rate. Austerity does not work.”
Teachers and parents have ignored this call citing that during the January shut down, school children lost out a lot and these shut downs only slowed the children down. Parents highlighted that these calls are led by people who have no idea of how much they affect, especially the exam writing classes.
Speaking to the Harare Post, one Zimpost worker, Farai Banda said that these calls are just a waste of time because it has been almost three weeks since they heard calls for a shut down.
“MDC iri kutambisira vanhu nguva yavo. Who do they think will not go to work because they say so? I have been seeing messages of shut down and stay aways for almost three weeks now. Was I supposed to stay at home every time they said I should stay away? Maybe they should find something to do with their lives and not play with other people’s lives. I have a life and so does my family. They should learn that these shut down are not the solution,” he said.
Some individuals were minding their own business in Harare CBD and they were surprised that there had been calls for a shutdown as they did not know about them. Some said that the shut downs were uncalled for since all these people could do is engage Government. They highlighted that the numbers of lives lost during the past violent demonstrations they have called for before should teach them a lesson.
The MDC is well known for working with the West, the USA in particular who are after regime change in Zimbabwe.
