Food strike called in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s main opposition is backing tomorrow’s mass labour strike planned in protest at food and fuel shortages in the country they blame on President Robert Mugabe.

The policies of Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party have contributed to the country’s economic crisis, including a food shortage that has left at least half of the country at risk of starvation, said Morgan Tsvangirai, head of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

In politicising the distribution of scarce food aid by denying it to opposition strongholds and failing to tackle essential economic needs, Tsvangirai said Mugabe had exacerbated the troubled country’s problems.

The government has repeatedly denied such allegations.

“The deteriorating economic situation has reached alarming levels. Once again, we call on ZANU-PF to negotiate itself out of this mess and force Robert Mugabe to retire,” said Tsvangirai who narrowly lost the March presidential elections against Mugabe.

Tomorrow’s one day strike has been called by the National Constitutional Assembly, a reform group, has been backed by union leaders and civic groups.

Fliers have been distributed across the country, urging people to stay home.

No marches were scheduled in order to avoid open confrontations with police and troops enforcing a ban on public demonstrations under strict new security laws passed early this year.

“We have been receiving a lot of pressure from Zimbabweans saying the situation was untenable it was time to act,” said Lovemore Madhuku, one of the strike organisers.

Zimbabwe’s economy has declined sharply in recent months, as the country suffers acute shortages of food, petrol, medicine and essential imports now that inflation has soared and hard currency is increasingly scarce.

International finance houses have forecast inflation will exceed 500% early next year, up from a record 200% projected by the end of the year.