PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has pressed the panic button over galloping prices of basic commodity as he accused retailers of plotting his defeat ahead of the August elections.
Retailers last week hiked prices as they chased the black market foreign currency exchange rate, which is now hovering between $3 500 and $4 000 to the United States dollar.
A tin of Red Seal baked beans was priced at $4 000 or US$1 in one local retail shop, while a 10kg bag of Red Seal Super Roller Meal was costing $27 999, sending shivers down many Zimbabweans’ spines as they recalled the dreaded 2008 hyperinflation, which drove goods off shop shelves.
NewsDay observed yesterday that some products such as cooking oil, sugar and rice were no longer available on most shop shelves as suppliers were allegedly withholding them in preference of the United States dollar.
Writing in his weekly column in a State-owned newspaper yesterday, Mnangagwa said government came up with several measures to stabilise the economy in “good faith”, but was being betrayed by the business sector.
“We even wonder if at all we are dealing with business anymore or with the politicians disguised as company executives seeking a political upset. Equally, politicians seeking to engineer market failures for definite political outcomes will be dealt with as political opponents and through rules of appropriate politics,” Mnangagwa said.
“We are even aware of certain businesses deliberately disabling point-of-sale gadgets to force the consumer to buy key goods in one currency, contrary to the laws of the land.
“Any business practices which suppress the use of any currency recognised by our laws are both illegal and do undermine this unique and most favourable position which is found nowhere else in the world.
“Maybe the time has now come for the government to insist that such tricks should be suspended until they can technically handle transactions in multi-currency. We will take all measures necessary to ensure there is stability, including painful ones should that ever become necessary.”
As fears mount over the possibility of basic products vanishing from shop shelves, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president Kurai Matsheza said industry was in talks with government.
“We are talking with the government and I cannot comment further than that,” he said.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers president Denford Mutashu said Mnangagwa’s warning was warranted given the galloping prices across the economy.
Source: bulawayo24
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