Chronicle Editor
Sikhulekelani Moyo
THE Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) has urged traders to use official exchange rates so as to preserve consumer purchasing power, which is already below the family basket standards.
CCZ Matabeleland Region managing director, Mr Comfort Muchekeza said the prevailing informal market rates stifle consumers’ purchasing power and distort prices for basic goods.
Last week, the exchange rate at the forex exchange auction was US$1:ZW$959 while the exchange rate at the parallel market was around US$1:ZW$1 500 to $1 700.
“The prevailing informal market rates range of between US$: ZW$1 700 is not a good sign to consumer purchasing power as it distorts pricing with some retail shops and service providers indexing prices of their products using parallel market rates.
“This makes goods and services more expensive, further eroding consumers’ purchasing power, considering that salaries and incomes are still low in comparison to CCZ family basket findings,” said Mr Muchekeza.
“We urge retailers to use Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe auction rates to guard against short-charining consumers.”
The Consumer Protection Commission is working hand in hand with CCZ to make sure that consumer rights are preserved and those who do unethical business practices are brought into book. – @SikhulekelaniM1.
derick.khumalo