Government has insisted that it will not return to the infamous price control system, previously attributed to shortage of basic commodities in 2008.
Addressing a stakeholder dialogue on prices and pricing models yesterday, Minister of Industry and Commerce Mangaliso Ndlovu said government was in the process of interrogating sustainable ways of ensuring availability of basic commodities in the country.
“As a Ministry we noted that there was need to meet various sectors across the value chain so as to interrogate and understand the causes of price hikes on the value chains in order to come up with some solutions to the pricing situation that we face.
“We also need to interrogate sustainable availability of goods in our markets.
“We therefore have a few proposals to engage and discuss collectively and come up with solutions that will help our economy,” said Ndlovu.
He urged manufacturers to publicize recommended retail price on all goods on shelves to guard against unnecessary hiking of prices.
“Government through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe will continue to support the productive sector through foreign currency allocations to ensure that there is adequate stock for the upcoming festive season and the time beyond.
“The National Competitive Commission will interrogate costs build ups from the manufacturer through to the retailer in following up the value chains and then they are also assigned to recommend specific pricing for each sector.
“We also propose that manufacturers will publicize recommended retail price on all goods on shelves,” he said.
