National strike action goes unheeded

A call for mass action to protest food and fuel shortages in Zimbabwe went largely unheeded on Tuesday as most employees arrived at work. But organisers of the stayaway dismissed reports suggesting that the strike was a "flop". "About 30 percent of workers stayed at home across the country. Those who have called the strike a failure do not understand what Zimbabweans are up against," Chairman of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Lovemore Madhuku told IRIN. "Most people were too afraid to protest. There is widespread fear among people that if they embark on any kind of protest they will be accused of toppling [President Robert] Mugabe," he said. The NCA, a coalition of student and church groups, political parties and rights groups, has led a number of protests in the past two years against a constitution that critics say Mugabe has manipulated to bolster his power. On the eve of the protest, the head of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, Wellington Chibebe, and 11 of his officials were arrested for organising the strike. Madhuku said 25 people were arrested on Tuesday for participating in the strike. Observers said the strike failed to take off due to poor organisation and workers' fear of losing their jobs. "This strike was part of a broader message to the government that the people of Zimbabwe will not watch the economy be ruined. This is part of the mobilisation process to get people politically aware. We will continue to hold these stayaways until the government is forced to make changes," Madhuku said. Zimbabwe is struggling with record high unemployment, inflation and crippling fuel shortages in the country's worst economic crisis in two decades.