By Innocent Mujeri
Businesses have lost thousands of dollars due to the closure of shops triggered by MDC violent thugs in Harare yesterday, the Harare Post has learnt.
The business community has strongly condemned the violence which transpired in Harare yesterday when rogue MDC youths defied a police order to clear Nelson Mandela Street which they had blocked insisting that they wanted to listen to an address from their leader, despite police banning the intended so called Hope of the Nation Address.
The police instructed the MDC to either get inside the Richard Morgan Tsvangirai House (RMT House) or to disperse so that they don’t disturb the free flow of traffic in Nelson Mandela Street.
The MDC people responded by shouting obscenities and other unprintable vulgarities to the police. Some of them started to pelt stones and other objects at the police who were maintaining peace and order.
The running battle which ensued between police and the rogue MDC supporters forced nearby businesses to close as they feared damages to their properties.
An insider from the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) confirmed to this publication that businesses located near Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House (MRT House ) lost an estimated ZWL 1 000 000 due to the closure of the shops.
“Businesses have lost an estimated ZWL1 000 000 due to the melee between MDC youths and the police as most businesses closed in fear of the violence. This is a huge figure and cannot be recovered easily” said the source.
A manager of a supermarket near MRT House who preferred anonymity also condemned the violence and urged that political parties be housed outside the CBD.
“Today (yesterday) our sales were depressed as customers didn’t come to our shop in fear of being caught in the cross fire. I strongly recommend that political parties be housed outside the City to avoid similar incidences in the future,” said the manager who preferred anonymity.
A bank teller who works opposite the MRT House said people who had queued to withdraw cash at the banks were forced to disperse as the MDC youths engaged in running battles with the police. The banks had to close as they feared that people might get inside and start looting.
The same source further condemned the MDC youths for provoking the police and starting the violence, describing them as barbaric and people of corrupted mind.
The violent character in the MDC is slowly reaching alarming levels Two weeks ago, party youths aligned to Chamisa and Mwonzora clashed at their party headquarters as factional fights in the party continues unabated.
