Brandon Josphat and
Hazel Marimbiza
LIFE continued as normal across most of the country yesterday, despite the push by some opposition leaders and pressure groups for a national shutdown over the recent constitutional changes.
Editorial staff from the Daily News — the country’s most influential newspaper — who covered the situation in major cities nationwide witnessed business as usual, with supermarkets, banks, fuel stations, public transport operators and vendors trading as is customary, amid a heavy security presence.
In Harare, the big bus terminals, including Copacabana, buzzed as usual, with commuter omnibuses loading and unloading passengers.
Vendors also traded as usual across the metro, while shoppers thronged supermarkets and informal markets to buy their month-end groceries and other essentials.
Similarly in Bulawayo, the second city was calm as police maintained a heavy presence in parts of the central business district.
National police spokesperson Paul Nyathi said last night that preliminary reports showed that the situation in the country had been peaceful.
“Businesses opened as usual, public transport has been operating normally and people are freely conducting their daily routines.
“The police presence, as we have previously indicated, is solely meant to maintain law and order, preserve peace and ensure the safety and security of all citizens.
“Our officers remain deployed in strategic areas as part of routine policing measures to guarantee that the prevailing peaceful environment in the country is maintained,” Nyathi said.
The president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR), Denford Mutashu, said business had proceeded normally across the country.
“All formal and informal shops opened their doors to the public as usual this morning, with business operations proceeding without any disruptions.
“Customer traffic was high, as consumers took advantage of the usual month-end shopping period to purchase their groceries, household goods and other essential commodities.
“Our suppliers and service providers were also fully operational, ensuring that stocks continued to flow smoothly throughout the supply chain,” Mutashu told the Daily News last night.
“All retail and wholesale employees also reported for duty without any difficulty, as public transport was operating normally across the country.
“Workers were able to travel to their workplaces on time, enabling businesses to maintain their normal trading hours and service levels.
“Business is enjoying the usual month-end spending rush, with consumers shopping in large numbers after receiving their salaries and wages,” Mutashu said further.
The president of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC), Josephine Takundwa, also said business operations had proceeded normally.
“We did not notice any disruption to normal business,” she said.
Harare Youth Transporters Association chairperson, Edmore Gwengwe, also said commuter operators had continued providing services without interruption.
“It is business as usual for us. We are continuing to ferry passengers to their various destinations without any disruptions or changes.
“Our responsibility is to ensure that we meet the transport needs of the public, while complementing the government’s efforts to drive economic development and improve mobility across the country.
“We remain committed to providing reliable and efficient transport services, ensuring that people can go about their daily activities without challenges,” Gwengwe said.
Vendors who spoke to the Daily News said they chose to continue trading because missing a day’s business would deprive their families of much-needed income.
“I survive on what I make every day. If I don’t open my stall, my children do not eat,” Harare vegetable vendor, Memory Moyo, said.
Another vendor in the capital, Tawanda Chikuni, also said he could not afford to stay away from work.
“Our livelihoods depend on daily sales. We came to work because business must continue,” he said.
Shop owners echoed similar sentiments.
“We opened at our usual time because our customers rely on us.
“A peaceful environment allows businesses to operate and people to earn a living,” said Harare business owner Brian Dube.
Zanu PF director for Information, Farai Marapira, said the stay-away had been a failure because Zimbabweans had “full confidence” in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s leadership and the country’s economic direction.
“We are used to this nonsense from those people that would try to pull our country back and try to stop the nation’s positive progression.
“But as always, they failed. Everyone in Zimbabwe was busy working as usual.
“There is peace, there is stability and the people are working to ensure that they build their country and a better future,” Marapira said.
However, the People’s Coalition, which endorsed the nationwide stay-away, maintained that the call for a shutdown had achieved its intended objective, citing reduced movement in some urban centres.
Sungano yeVanhu–Ubumbano Lomphakathi spokesperson, Jacob Ngarivhume, said preliminary observations indicated that there had been reduced activity in some central business districts, amid increased police deployments.
“Regarding today’s (yesterday’s) nationwide stay-away, there was reduced movement and congestion in central business districts and increased deployment of police officers in urban centres.
“There were reports of an unusually high number of warrants of arrest issued by Magistrates’ Courts following the non-attendance of accused persons, largely attributed to transport challenges.
“Also, there was no vendor activity at Freedom Square, with the area occupied by police and water cannons and reports of reduced attendance at schools in several parts of the country,” Ngarivhume said.