A grim Christmas beckons for the majority of Zimbabweans, as the harsh economic environment threatens to erode the festive mood.
BY MOSES CHIBAYA
Many companies closed for the year without paying their workers. Hundreds of workers were not sure their jobs would be there next year, as their companies are struggling to remain afloat due to viability problems.
An employee of Field Technical Sales told The Standard yesterday that they were given a paltry US$50 each in wages. The company told the workers that the balance would be paid in January.
“I don’t know how we are going to survive this festive season. We are supposed to pay school fees in January and there is no guarantee that the company will pay the outstanding amount before schools open,” said the employee who requested anonymity.
He said since the introduction of multi-currencies in 2009, the company only managed to pay full salaries for four months. It then resorted to paying any amount as and when it mobilised the funds.
Company officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The situation is the same at ZBC where employees were paid US$100 despite not having been paid for the past seven months. The government recently pledged to pay the ZBC workers something “reasonable” before Christmas but the promise has not been met.
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The top managers, who earn up to US$40 000 each, reportedly refused to take salary cuts.
A cross section of the population said the festive mood had been affected by company closures amid reports by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) that at least 300 employees were being retrenched each week. Although shops are fully stocked with basic commodities, from sugar to flour, many people do not have the money to buy the commodities because of the liquidity crunch in the country.
Christmas is usually celebrated in style with feasts throughout the country. Some like Christopher Muyambo of Warren Park D each year celebrate Christmas in the rural areas but was yesterday not sure if he would make it.
“Every year I always visit my rural home in Chipinge but this time, it’s a bit challenging. I don’t have money. Usually I need to get there with some groceries and clothes for young brothers but I am struggling to do it this year,” Muyambo said.
Bank queues have emerged at smaller banks such as Metbank and Allied Bank, subjecting depositors to hours of waiting. The depositors’ patience is running thin.
On Monday, depositors of Allied Bank (formerly ZABG) turned riotous and smashed door glasses after failing to access cash at one of the bank’s Harare branches.
Early this month, a branch manager of Metbank in Mutare had to seek refuge at a police station as depositors threatened to beat him up after failing to access their money.
Few people have any money, and those that have it have to queue endlessly at banks for limited withdrawals.
One Harare businessman said he had no plans for the festive season owing to the challenges facing his business.
“People are not buying the clothes I am selling. There is no money in the banks. This time around I am not going to be in the festive mood, I am just doing my business as usual. Things are tough,” said the businessman, who preferred anonymity.
Gideon Shoko, ZCTU acting secretary-general, said the situation was bad.
“In the past years employees would get a reprieve due to bonuses but this year there is nothing. Most of the employees have not received their salaries for months. Those that are buying might have received money from their relatives in the Diaspora,” Shoko said.
A taxi driver who operates in the city centre said this was his worst year since the dollarisation of the economy.
“This year it’s worse compared to the previous years. I can’t remember in terms of the figures but I can tell there is a decline. Last year it was like a peak hour time towards Christmas but this time people are not shopping,” the driver said.
Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) executive director, Rosemary Siyachitema said consumers were not spending as they normally would. “Things have changed. Consumers don’t have money. Of course Christmas is around the corner but people’s pockets are constrained. They are only buying essentials; they are not spending as usual,” Siyachitema said.
Siyachitema added: “Normally people want to travel but this year it’s impossible. Consumers know that if they are to spend the little they have, they will need to pay school fees in January, pay bills and other expenses, so they are keeping the little that they have.”
MDC-T president Morgan Tsvangirai, giving his end of year message, said Zimbabwe was largely in a dire state with indicators pointing to a nation on quick strides to return to the chaos and collapse of 2008.
“I am fully aware that this is certainly going to be a bleak Christmas with little or nothing to share. We are faced with a government that has fully abdicated its responsibilities to the vagaries of the economic weather, allowing the winds of fate to drift the nation state to whatever plight and economic destination,” Tsvangirai said.
Harare deputy mayor Thomas Muzuva told The Standard yesterday proceeds from the Mayor’s Cheer Fund would be donated to the Beatrice Infectious Diseases Hospital (Nazareth) and Wilkins.
The donations will be made during Harare mayor, Bernard Manyenyeni’s tour of the facilities on Tuesday.
The Christmas lights in First Street stand out as a reminder that the festive season is upon us.
