Teachers stay home after bus fare hike

Teachers stay home after bus fare hike

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By Staff Reporter

ZIMBABWEANS faced fresh woes at the weekend after private bus operators hiked fares in the wake of a doubling of fuel prices, with teachers saying they could no longer afford the ride to work.

The latest move exacerbates the fuel and transport crisis, the worst since independence in 1980, which has seen many people walking miles to work and cars queuing up for days outside petrol stations.

On Friday, bus fares from the sprawling township of Chitungwiza to downtown Harare were raised to Z$25 000 (about R8.80) from Z$11 000.

The Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe said its members would be forced to stay home.

"The cost of travelling to and from work has more than doubled for most teachers, who have to board two buses to get to school," secretary-general Raymond Majongwe told the privately-owned Daily Mirror newspaper.

"The teachers will not be able to get to work."

Majongwe said Zimbabwe's public service commission had given state employees an extra monthly allowance of Z$459 000 from September onwards which he argued would not offset the higher costs.

"This amount is a pittance considering that most teachers now spend Z$80 000 on transport every day," he said.

A school teacher on average earns Z$3.5m a month.

Tapiwa Mashakada, shadow finance minister in the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, roundly blamed the government for the hikes.

"The widening gap between incomes and prices just never ends and the bottom line is people cannot cope with the increases that are hitting them on a daily basis. It's grossly unfair," he said.

He said the government had to combat triple-digit inflation by reducing the budget deficit and boosting exports.

Zimbabwe, which is facing a crippling fuel shortage, upped petrol and diesel prices on Wednesday by more than 100%, an increase the government said was needed to keep up with international prices.

Petrol prices zoomed from Z$10 000 a litre to Z$22 300, while diesel shot up from Z$9 600 to Z$20 800.

The Herald said fuel costs constituted less than 20% of running costs of a commuter omnibus.

Urban development minister Ignatius Chombo told the daily: "We understand the fact that fuel price has gone up by more than 100% but that should not translate into 100% fare increases."

"In fact, bus fares should not go up by more than 10%."

A private bus operator, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the hike was justified as they were buying fuel at higher prices than the state-owned public transport corporation, Zupco.

"Zupco buys fuel at the government ministries' rate of Z$11 000 and Z$13 500 for diesel and petrol, respectively, yet we get fuel at the petrol-pump price of Z$20 800 for diesel and Z$22 300 for petrol," he said - Sapa
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