Teachers take anti-govt protest to rural Gwanda

By Tatenda Dewa | Harare Bureau |

The Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (RTUZ) is planning a month-end demonstration against the government in rural Gwanda in Matabeleland South.

In a notice on Monday, RTUZ urged all teachers in and around Gwanda to join the demonstration that will take place on 30 September to push government to pay salaries on time, publish bonus dates and address rural poverty.

For more than a year, government has been failing to meet teachers and other civil servants on time due to limited revenue.

Recently Finance minister, Patrick Chinamasa, announced that there would be no bonuses for the next two years, but government reversed his mid-year fiscal policy review position.

RTUZ activists last month walked for about 200km from Mtawatawa in Mashonaland East to Harare in protest against poor working conditions for rural teachers.

Thubelihle Tsheza, the RTUZ gender and social welfare secretary for Matabeleland South, called on the government to address multiple socio-economic challenges confronting the country.

The union is planning to grow its disobedience to President Robert Mugabe’s government.

“RTUZ will use the 30 September demonstration to test preparedness of provincial leaderships to lead demonstrations before launching spontaneous nationwide protests.

“Petitions will be handed to ministries of Public Service and Primary and Secondary Education. We fight for pro-poor education,” said the union in its statement.

It helped organise teachers to stay away from work during a nationwide protest in July. Nehanda Radio