Deputy Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs, Victor Matemadanda, has warned businesses that are refusing to reduce prices of their commodities. The Zanu PF National Political Commissar said that appropriate action will be taken against such business.
Addressing Gweru residents who were gathered for this month’s cleanup campaign, Matemadanda said:
We spent money in the old republic until we emptied all the coffers. Money in the economy is like blood in the body. We are aware that there are some unscrupulous people who are refusing to reduce prices and we would like to assure them that action will be taken if they do not refrain from such activities.
His remarks come after reports suggesting that some businesses are raising or maintaining prices of their commodities. This is contrary to the government’s expectation and directive that prices must start falling in response to Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019.
SI 142 reintroduced the Zimbabwe Dollar and banned the use of all foreign currencies for domestic transactions. Resultantly, parallel markets rates began to shrink. The government expected that when the foreign currency was now being accessed at a cheaper price, prices of commodities must, therefore, go down.
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