The member of parliament for Vungu constituency Omega Sibanda has expressed concern and castigated unfair business practices by local entrepreneurs, whom he said are ripping off customers.
He told 98.4FM News the business operators are taking advantage of the unstable foreign currency exchange rates to profiteer.
“We have a serious problem here in my constituency (Vungu) where the businesses peg prices in US dollars and when you come to buy using Ecocash (mobile money) you are told that for an item on the shelve going for US$1 you have to pay an equivalent of ZW$180. You wonder what exchange rate has been used when the official rate is US$1 to about ZW$89,” Sibanda said.
He appealed to the business operators to peg prices in the local currency at the official exchange rate. Sibanda also called for the traders to be considerate and show integrity in their running of business.
Despite the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe`s (RBZ) attempts to reign in on exchange rate-based pricing distortions, many businesses continue to peg prices using the parallel market exchange rate, which currently is around US$1 to ZW$160 or above.