Zimbabwe on security alert as price of fuel soars 50%
Emerson Mnangagwa's stumbling government reversed a call earlier in the day banning fuel hikes
Harare — The price of fuel in Zimbabwe rose nearly 50% on Tuesday as the country’s economic crisis continued to bite.
The hike in fuel prices is expected to cause yet another flurry of price hikes, which could in turn push up inflation, currently at a 10-year high. In January, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced a 150% jump in fuel prices, triggering widespread protests that led to the deaths of 17 people after a brutal military crackdown. The country is currently on “security alert” owing to growing public anger against Mnangagwa’s government, which seems to be at its wits-end about solving the economic meltdown. In a statement on Tuesday, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera), which regulates the industry, announced it had approved an increase in the price of diesel and petrol. The approval came just hours after it threatened fuel companies that raised prices or withheld fuel from the market. In an earlier statement, Zera had said there would be ...
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