NATIONAL Political Commissar of the Zanu PF Youth League Godfrey Tsenengamu has warned those who want to demonstrate against Government to seek more positive alternatives to improving the economy
“We are not going to fold our hands, we will meet blow by blow if the need arises. This (country) is not a church, we will not sit down and watch them causing anarchy. This is not going to happen. If they start, they must be ready for the consequences,” Tsenengamu told journalists at the ZANU-PF headquaurters on Sunday.
“Our position is very clear; we will not allow the opposition to put us in the corner. We are humans and we might at one time be forced to react,” Zanu PF national youth commissar Godfrey Tsenengamu said.
The MDC youths have threatened to protest this week against the economic meltdown characterised by shortages of basic commodities and price hikes.
The party’s previous protests in Harare have attracted a lot of participants.
MDC youth secretary-general Denford Ngadziore yesterday scoffed at the Zanu PF threats, saying no amount of intimidation would stop the wheels of change.
“Demonstration is our constitutional right. We don’t budge to those threats. These are the same youths who demonstrated against (former President) Robert Mugabe because they knew it was their democratic right. I treat their utterances as empty threats,” Ngadziore said.
Deputy Minister for Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Energy Mutodi also said that Zimbabweans should brace for a surge in prices after the government hiked fuel prices on Saturday night.
Mutodi also warned Zimbabweans not to go into the streets in protest against the fuel price increases as the government will not hesitate to use force to put down such kind of demonstrations.
Wrote Mutodi: “New fuel prices will stamp out arbitrage in the fuel sector and normalize fuel supply but Zimbabweans must brace for commodity price volatility emanating from the fuel price shock.
“Volatility will be temporary before goods prices normalise.
“Faced with high fuel costs, clever people know what to do and here are some tips: Avoid fuel guzzler, reduce fleet, cancel unnecessary trips and use bicycles where possible to save BIG. Do not protest in the street you can lose a limb in skirmishes.”
Tsenengamu warned that the MDC should know that protests have not helped anything in the history of Zimbabwe.
Zanu PF deputy youth secretary Lewis Mathuthu said they recently met and resolved not to tolerate opposition attempts to revolt against government.
He defended Mnangagwa’s recent fuel price hike, saying it was long overdue.
“I am very happy that the price of fuel has finally been pegged up to standard in terms of what other countries are doing. A lot of fuel was going out of the country. A lot of our fuel was going to Mozambique, South Africa and DRC,” Mathuthu alleged.
He also warned manufactures and retailers against raising prices of commodities, saying they were already exorbitant.
“We do not expect the prices of other commodities to go up because they are already exorbitant and it was only fuel that was very low and government was carrying the burden of subsidising fuel using foreign currency, something that we don’t have,” he said.
NewsDay