Industry and Commerce Minister Sekai Nzenza said her ministry has deployed teams across the country to ensure that shops sell their products at the official exchange rate and that they are not selling substandard products.
Nzenza was speaking in the Senate on Thursday on irregularities in the pricing of goods by some traders and she said those found on the wrong side of the law will be punished. She said:
This team is found in each province. They move around with a scale to, for example, measure a 500ml bottle to check if it is correct.
This team can just approach any shop without notice. They will be having their own 500ml to see if those in the shop are really 500ml.
So, this group is in all provinces and giving us reports of what is happening. It is true that there are shopkeepers that are doing that dubious act.
As human beings, we find people who are naughty and people who do act that are amusing.
If the official rate of the day is ZW$90 and others are offering ZW$120 that is against the law but this monitoring group that I have mentioned is going around the provinces.
If they find such acts going on, they go to that particular shop. They are not getting into each and every shop but what I promise is that we are working in all the provinces.