Zimbabwe – 29 July 2016
Zimbabwe war veterans’ spokesman arrested
Veterans of Zimbabwe’s 1970s independence war, who had previously been loyal Mugabe supporters, issued a statement bitterly denouncing the ninety-two-year-old president, who faces growing signs of opposition.
Douglas Mahiya, spokesman for the association, was arrested late on Wednesday in Harare, according to Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).
BDLive
Protesters Fume as Zimbabwe Vice President Runs Up a Hotel Bill
The country’s A.T.M.s have run out of cash. Even the police and the army — linchpins of the government’s control — are not getting paid on time.
But as economic protests have multiplied and shut down the capital recently, Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko has enjoyed a special privilege, courtesy of the state: nearly 600 nights in the presidential suite of Zimbabwe’s most luxurious hotel while his official mansion is being prepared.
The vice president’s extended stay in the Rainbow Towers presidential suite — he checked into the hotel in December 2014, at a taxpayer cost of $1,000 a night, including meals — has drawn regular demonstrations outside the five-star landmark, where visiting dignitaries stay.
New York Times
Zimbabwe’s cash crisis deepens
Zimbabwe will pay July salaries for the army on Monday, more than a week late, but teachers will only receive their wages next month, a union official said, as the government grapples with an acute currency shortage.
President Robert Mugabe’s government is facing its biggest financial squeeze since it dumped its hyperinflation-hit currency in 2009 and adopted the US dollar, and is struggling to secure international financing.
IOL