Mnangagwa defended his fuel policy, saying prices in Zimbabwe were the lowest in the region.
“Zimbabwe is going through both political and economic reforms and these do not come easily. It will take time for things to settle and results to be shown,” he told reporters in Moscow at the start of a five-nation foreign trip that some analysts had expected him to cancel.
“In normal circumstances the president should have cancelled the trip or booked a flight back home to deal with a very urgent situation, but it could be that he has absolute confidence that his deputy is in charge,” said Eldred Masunungure, a political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe.
Cash shortages have plunged the economy into disarray, threatening widespread social unrest and undermining Mnangagwa’s efforts to win back foreign investors who left under Robert Mugabe, whose 40-year rule ended in a coup more than a year ago.
Everyday life is getting increasingly tough with the prices of basic goods spiralling and medical supplies in short supply. Motorists wait for hours to fill up at fuel stations where soldiers are often deployed to break up fights over who is next in line.
In Bulawayo, police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters outside the High Court, according to video footage from the Centre For Innovation & Technology, an independent news service which also showed people looting a shop.
"We are protesting because it's come to a time where things are hurting. People are suffering."
Riots have broken out in Zimbabwe following the doubling of fuel prices. Our correspondent @shingainyoka reports from the scene. pic.twitter.com/D9ehdXj6nW
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) January 14, 2019
Zimbabwe, which now uses the U.S. dollar after abandoning its currency in 2009 after hyperinflation, plans to introduce a new currency in the next 12 months.
But Zimbabweans are still traumatised by hyperinflation, which hit 500 billion percent in 2008 and left the local currency worthless, wiping out savings and pensions. Inflation reached 31 percent in November, the highest in a decade.
Businesses and civil servants are demanding to be paid in dollars. Zimbabwe’s largest brewing company Delta Beverages, part-owned by Anheuser-Busch Inbev, threatened to accept only U.S. dollars as payment but later reversed its decision after government-led negotiations.
The government on Monday postponed wage negotiations with civil service unions, who are planning a nationwide strike from Jan. 22 to press for U.S. dollar pay.