Chronicle Editor
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development has suspended trading licences for 17 pharmacies that were violating the Exchange Control directives and Government policy by using speculative exchanges rates.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)established that some pharmacies were using parallel market exchange rates ranging between ZWL8 500 and ZWL11 000 against the US dollar. The suspended pharmacies are in Gweru, Kwekwe, Mutare Kadoma, Chegutu and Rusape.
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development said Government notes with concern that some market players continue to exhibit highly destabilising forward pricing and speculation in outright violation of exchange control directives and Government policy guidelines on pricing and use of local currency.
The Ministry said the practice was particularly rampant but certainly not limited to the pharmaceutical sector. “The transacting public is encouraged to resist all forms of unfair pricing by retailers and immediately report violations to the FIU,” said the Ministry. Government said it is committed to achieving lasting price stability and the broad use of local currency for domestic transactions. It warned businesses that continue to violate exchange control regulations that they risk losing their trading licences.
The suspension of the pharmacies’ trading licences should send a clear message to businesses that fleecing of consumers will not be tolerated. There has been complete chaos in the market place because of rampant indiscipline as businesses were doing as they pleased. Government has on several occasions warned unscrupulous businesses of severe consequences for unethical conduct but businesses were not taking heed.
Government has through the suspension of the trading licences for the pharmacies demonstrated that it is not just making empty threats when it warns businesses against violating exchange control regulations.
Businesses have been adjusting prices based on the black market exchange rates and we expected more businesses to be punished until there is sanity in the market place.
Some businesses even had the audacity of selling some products exclusively in forex despite Government’s repeated warnings that such conduct is illegal.
Consumers must complement Government efforts to bring sanity in the market place by reporting unscrupulous businesses to the authorities. Moral suasion failed to stop businesses from charging extortionate prices hence the need to bring to book all violators of pricing regulations.
The economic problems the country is facing are as a result of market indiscipline and as such unscrupulous businesses must be whipped into line as what has been done to pharmacies.
It is our fervent hope that businesses will not risk having their trading licences suspended or withdrawn completely.
Online Reporter