admincomodities and services.
So fierce have price increases become that one needs to take a doctor along whenever they visit a supermarket.
Utility bills for water, electricity and even telephones have not been spared.
It’s now a big boys’ marathon almost everywhere with virtually no room to manoeuvre for those of the mean sort. Talk of economic strangulation!
“Enter at your own risk” and “Not for people of a nervous disposition” are signs that should be nailed on entrances to most supermarkets.
While one may argue that prices have risen by an average of US20 cents, the cummulative value leaves most ordinary shoppers priced out.
Signs of people entering a supermarket smiling and leaving while shaking their heads in dismay are now not unsual.
I felt sorry for a booty girl early this week. Her lover made good his escape, leaving her with two trolleys of unpaid for niceties.
The bloke feigned to have received a call on his mobile phone and the sounds of his footsteps faded with distance until they could not be heard anymore.
Akarova pasi mwana wavaridzi. Kutyei kugara beya serinorwadza.
Gentle reader, the current round of price increases in most shops spell disaster in all its manifestations.
“Yowe, yowe-e,” cried a pensioner in the supermarket as he shuddered to think how he would make ends meet with his measly monthly pay out.
With these ruthless price increases, any trip to the supermarket should be carefully planned.
Taking children alone could trigger more challenges for the little ones do not appreciate that their parents sometimes also run short of cash.
Butcheries have not been left out.
Most of them have increased the price of beef almost two-fold.
The cheapest cuts, nyama iya isina mutupo, are going for US$6 a kilogramme while choice beef can sell for anything up to US$10/kg.
Butchers interviewed by this writer said they had hiked prices owing to dwindled supplies of slaughtering herds.
There are generally few cattle on the market with those available fetching high prices.
Some people had switched to goats and chickens, but the price mania has not spared those markets.
Life in the city is now becoming unbearable.
And the surge in beef prices is certainly going to take the cheer away from this year’s Christmas.
Gentle reader, whenever people meet, a salty chew is always necessary to titillate the tastebuds and keep useless squabbles at bay.
Beef shortages and high prices mean loss of business to people who were thriving on cooker shops that had mushroomed at almost every corner in the industrial areas and home industries.
“I am finished. I do not know how I am going to fend for my children.
“It is hard to sell sadza for US$1 a plate now because meat is now expensive.
“If we increase the prices our customers will certainly run away,” a food vendor told this writer while wiping sweat from her furrowed brow with a dirty apron.
The vendor said she was likely to reduce the number of maids she has owing to this lull in business.
“Hapana vanhu vari kuuya kuzodya sadza mwana wamai vangu.
“I have no option than to send some of these girls away,” she said in a voice filled with emotion.
Bottle store owners in Glen Norah said they were already feeling the pinch of recent increases in the cost of basic commodities through reduced sales.
“Things are not okay this time round. Prices have gone haywire and we are now pushing far less volumes than we used to during this time of the year.
“High beef prices have also translated into low beer sales since our customers usually drink beer while roasting meat,” said a bottle store owner who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The going is also tough for musicians.
Their shows are attracting paltry crowds than usual because people have little disposable income.
“Business is not what it used to be during this time of the year.
“Very few people got salary increments and the current wave of price increases in shops means they have to cut down on entertainment.
“Hope things will shape up when bonus payments start,” said a sungura artiste who said he was already struggling to survive.
“Patimire pakaoma sahwira.”
Those in the oldest profession have no reason to be happy at all.
They have very few clients while their prospects of being assaulted and denied cash are high.
Most people are now concentrating on their families to have cash to splash on ladies of loose morals.
High untility bills have not brought any sweet benefits to this industry.
Fears abound that the huge price increases, which have left most ordinary people virtually priced out will trigger muggings across the communities.
Already, countless people have been found dead in pathways along most high-density suburbs as thieves grapple for survival.
On another note, the huge increases in prices will trigger a surge in divorce cases as misunderstandings over money arise.
People will flock to the maintenance courts seeking cash while some will file for divorce.
It can be worse if you are considered to be in better economic circumstance in your family.
Almost every call you get is from a relative seeking assistance to cover rent, medical bills, fees or even a funeral.
Something needs to be done to stem the tide of price increases which spell doom for our nation.
Those still on the love market will certainly lose their dates because very few men have capacity to forkout large sums of money to please a girlfriend.
Only the dedicated lover boy will have sadza that costs US$1 while he buys Missy a large pizza ten times the price of his meal.
That sees the man fasting for the next ten days as no one is able to lend anyone some money these days.
If nothing is done to stop the price hike madness, then most of us will be assured of a bleak Christmas indeed.
The season of cheer is here but the cheer has already been wiped out by the price madness.
Online Reporter