Protests in Zimbabwe, which began on Monday after the government doubled fuel prices, are now "almost fizzling out," Zimbabwean President Mnangagwa told Sputnik on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2019) Protests in Zimbabwe, which began on Monday after the government doubled fuel prices, are now "almost fizzling out," Zimbabwean President Mnangagwa told Sputnik on Tuesday.
Over the weekend, the prices of fuel were more than doubled, which provoked nationwide protests in cities like Zimbabwe's capital Harare and Bulawayo on Monday. Police confronted demonstrators in the streets, and according to media reports, used tear gas on them. Several people were reportedly killed during the protests.
"I understand this that there were some protests happening yesterday but they are almost fizzling out and there is no country which has no challenging problems. These come and pass," Mnangagwa said.
The president added that Zimbabwe had the cheapest fuel in the world before prices were raised.
"We have the cheapest fuel in the world. Until three days ago our fuel was $0.60, now... we are selling our fuel at $3.31 bond notes. But we have designated service stations for our diplomats and so on who want to pay in US Dollars and it will cost them $1.32 in US dollars," Mnangagwa said.
Countries in the region like South Africa and Zambia have similar fuel costs to Zimbabwe, with South Africa selling petrol at around $1.20 per liter and Zambia selling petrol at $1.71 per liter.
