Zimbabwe sees a nationwide strike in protest over 'economic collapse'

Wednesday's one-day general strike in Zimbabwe brought much of the country to a halt. Public sector workers stayed home and streets were largely empty, but reports of sporadic violence increased as the day progressed.

Named "stay-away day", the strike followed days of unrest over the government's failure to pay civil servants' salaries, a currency shortage, import restrictions and police road blocks that were allegedly extorting cash from commercial drivers, Al Jazeera reports.

"This is a sign of economic collapse wich has left people with nothing more to sacrifice and nothing to lose," Dumisani Nkomo, spokesman for the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition campaign group, told the AFP news agency.

"We are heading towards a tipping point as a country, where citizens will express their pain by any means."

A crippling trade deficit mixed with political uncertainty has drained the government’s cash reserves living many high and dry and threatening a break down in public order, according to FSRN.

The cash crunch has also brought many businesses to a standstill. The government has encouraged merchants to install credit card machines to get around the cash shortage.

Dirk Frey, of the Occupy Africa Unity Square opposition movement, said the protests were a success.

"Despite sporadic incidences of violence, all over the country people have responded to the call. The state's crackdown in response, however, is of concern as it is a violent way of silencing people," he said.

The strike was the latest in a series of protests against Mugabe's government.

Zimbabwe hasn’t had its own currency since 2009 when hyper inflation made the Zimbabwe dollar virtually worthless. So the economy now runs on imported U.S. dollars and South African rands.