Only 20 activists demonstrate against bond notes in Harare

Zimbabwean riot police today used water cannons to scatter 20 activists protesting at the introduction of "bond notes" which were released on Monday, according to Reuters news agency.

It said 20 youths from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change tried to march through the streets of Harare waving placards saying "No to Bond Mugabe" and "No to fake money", but were met by a phalanx of riot police.

Water cannon salvoes ensued, quickly dispersing the demonstrators. No arrests were reported.

Associated Press described the protesters s “scores of activists”.

Some people are against the bond notes because they are afraid they could spur hyper-inflation if the government prints too many to meet the worsening cash shortage in the country.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has, however, said it will not abuse the system and has only released bond notes worth $10 million. Another $2 million was in one dollar coins.

There was already nearly $10 million of smaller notes in circulation.

The coins were backed by a $50 million facility while the notes are backed by a $200 million facility.

Sceptics see the bond notes as the end of Mugabe with one headline reading: “Bond notes to bury Mugabe at Heroes Acre alive.”

But having been beaten once in 2008 because of the way it had run down the economy, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front is not likely to repeat the same mistake.

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