The ManicaPost
Emmah Chinyamutangira Post Correspondent
BUSINESS in Mutare returned to normal yesterday following a three day violent protest in which property worth thousands of dollars was destroyed and more than 80 hooligans arrested. A snap survey by The Manica Post established that peace and tranquillity had returned to the city as all big supermarkets and small shops around the Central Business District opened for business.
Security forces had been deployed in most strategic business areas to ensure that peace and order prevailed throughout the day.
Although some commuter omnibuses were still not back on the road to ferry commuters to and from work, a significant number of kombis were on the road.
Residents that spoke to The Manica Post said the situation was back to normal and they were now able to report to work and go about their business without interference or fear of violence.
Mr Manasa Karira, of Dangamvura Area 3 had this to say:
“Most people are back at their work stations after being forced to stay home following violent demonstrations that rocked the city on Tuesday and Wednesday. Most companies and all major supermarkets are now opened. We are shopping freely and doing our business peacefully,” he said.
Mrs Pamela Mbona, a Small Medium to Enterprise (SMS) entrepreneur said the environment was now peaceful and conducive, hence her decision to open her shop.
She said her target was to work hard and make up for the huge losses accrued following two days of forced closure.
“The situation in the city is now peaceful and most businesses are operating. I ran a loss of over $2 000 for the past two days that I was forced to close shop following violent demonstrations. It’s now difficult to recover from the loss,” she said. Mr Stanford Magwaza, of Murambi said it was time to work together as a country to increase production and cooperate with the Government to attain Vision 2030.
“Production decreased and we recorded huge losses during the protests and now it is time to recover from the losses. We urge the Government to punish all the people who caused the demonstrations that led to destruction of some properties,” said Mr Magwaza.
Vendors who had vacated the streets were also back and expressed their concern over the losses they accrued.
“We have started to operate again after the demonstrations which saw us experiencing loss of our perishable stocks. Vending is our source of livelihood and we were really affected, Government should implement measures that are tough so that people will not engage in violent protests again,” said Mrs Chenai Katuruza, who operates from Pick n Pay vending mart.
Mr Simba Mukodza, a commuter omnibus operator said the situation was slowly normalising as some kombis were operating peacefully in Dangamvura, Hobhouse and Chikanga.
“Most kombis are operating and others who fear for their prized assets have not reported for duty. Some are also off road due to fuel shortages.
We urge the police to find and arrest all those culprits who destroyed properties during the stay away. They should also pay for the damage they caused,” said Mr Mukodza.
