MOST businesses opened yesterday ignoring calls by war veteran Blessed Geza to begin an indefinite shutdown to force President Emmerson Mnangagwa to step down.
Geza, who accuses Mnangagwa of allegedly presiding over a corrupt administration, appealed with citizens to stay at home.
He had proposed a two-day stayaway, before escalating to an indefinite shutdown, claiming the “situation had reached another level”.
A survey by NewsDay showed that it was business as usual in the central business district and industrial sites such as Graniteside.
Transport operators were also on the roads.
This was a departure from the March 31 protest, which virtually shut down the country.
Critics warned that the indefinite stayaway was bound to fail since the economy is highly informalised, with seven out of 10 employees being in the informal sector.
The odds were stacked against the stayaway call after the largest employer — government — on Monday ordered civil servants to report for work. The Public Service Commission also directed accounting officers to ensure attendance registers were completed, adding that participation in a stayaway was unpatriotic and an act of insubordination.
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Business had also made an impassioned plea to the public, with the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) reiterating “our commitment to ensuring uninterrupted service delivery and the continued availability of essential goods and services to the people of Zimbabwe”.
“While we acknowledge that citizens have the right to express themselves within the confines of the law, we urge all Zimbabweans to reject any form of illegal shutdowns or unsanctioned demonstrations that could disrupt economic activity, undermine stability and threaten livelihoods,” CZR said in a statement.
“Experience has shown that such actions do not resolve issues but instead cause unnecessary hardship, especially for workers, businesses and consumers.”
Critics say while yesterday could have given the government some respite, rising corruption, a deteriorating economic environment and a collapsed health system, which Geza highlighted, remain unattended.
