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Some manufacturers of basic commodities are reportedly in panic mode following Government’s decision to temporarily suspend Statutory Instrument 122 of 2017 (formerly S1 64 of 2016) to allow supermarkets to restock.
Companies and individuals with offshore and free funds are now allowed to import specified basic commodities that are in short supply due to speculative behaviour by local retailers and panic buying by consumers.
Following the decision by Government to lift the imports ban, some manufacturers who have been stockpiling commodities are now desperate to immediately off-load the products.
A social media-induced panic buying had seen basic commodities being wiped out from supermarket shelves and the situation was worsened by some manufacturers who held on to the products with some diverting the goods to foreign markets despite benefiting from foreign currency allocations from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Government in response lifted the ban on imports to allow the retailers to restock and now manufacturers are crying foul.
We have said it before that we do not want Zimbabwe to remain a retailing nation but should instead produce the bulk of the commodities it consumes.
Government, as already stated, has said the lifting of the import ban is temporary to allow retailers to restock and we hope during this period manufacturers would strive to increase capacity so that they retain their market share.
Zimbabwe can only be guaranteed food security if its companies are able to produce enough to meet local demand for basic commodities.
The revival and expansion of local industries means growth of the economy and creation of jobs.
Government therefore has an obligation to support the revival and expansion of local industries.
Businesses on their part should uphold business ethics and refrain from engaging in activities that short-change the consumers such as hoarding.
It is our hope that when members of the business community meet the President Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa today, they will make an undertaking to uphold business ethics.
There are some businesses that have remained committed to serving the country and we want to salute them.
There is however a need to expose the few unscrupulous businesses that have been hoarding products in order to create artificial shortages.
During their engagement with President Mnangagwa, we expect the businesspersons to come up with ways of guarding against speculative behaviour which distorts the market as what happened during the past three weeks.
Consumers are suffering as a result of unrealistic prices and we call upon businesses to immediately revert to realistic prices.
Online Reporter