Zim uprisings against useless bond notes

Harare - Hundreds of Zimbabweans on Wednesday marched in the streets of Harare to handover their petition against government's plans to introduce bond notes.

The announcement of the introduction of bond notes has caused panic among Zimbabweans as it has revived memories of the years 2007 and 2008 which were marked by severe food shortages and hyperinflation.

The demonstrators led by activists going by hashtag names #Tajamuka and #ThisFlag managed to hand over their petition at the ministry of finance and for the first time there was no police interference before the petition was handed in.

Before handing over the petition, some of the speakers including Partson Dzamara, said Zimbabweans are demonstrating against the bond notes due to fear of losing their savings as was the case in 2008.

Another speaker said the Zimbabwean government has resorted to introducing the bond notes because it is now broke and cannot pay its workers.

"This government wants to replace our hard earned United States dollars with these useless bond notes, so we will not allow that to happen," said one of the speakers.

The demonstrators held placards and wore T-Shirts denouncing President Robert Mugabe and his government.

Singing revolutionary songs the demonstrators called on President Mugabe to resign immediately accusing him of presiding over a corrupt government that has failed to find solutions to the plight of Zimbabweans.

It is not only the ordinary Zimbabweans that have not welcomed this development but corporates and economic analysts have also expressed skepticism on the issue.

Some of the prominent people who have spoken on the bond notes issue include  former vice president Joice Mujuru who likened the bond notes to "useless toilet paper" and has since approached the courts to bar the government from issuing the bond notes saying the move is illegal and against the will of the people.

The government however seem unperturbed by the anti-bond notes calls with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) saying it is “well on track” to unveil the bond notes in October, despite public resistance.

Last week, central bank deputy governor Kupukile Mlambo told the Daily News that despite the public’s concerns, the RBZ was geared to introduce the notes.

“October is still the introduction date… the process is not just printing, it also involves design, so we are well on track,” he was quoted saying.