INDUSTRY and Commerce minister Sithembiso Nyoni has blamed Statutory Instrument (SI) 118A of 2022 for the prevailing high US-dollar pricing regime.
SI 118A, gazetted under the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (Amendment of Exchange Control Act) Regulations, 2022, allows firms to add a 10% mark-up on prevailing official foreign currency rates when charging for their goods and services.
For example, while the current forex rate is US$1:ZWL$5 674,3580, under the SI business can use an exchange rate of US$1:ZWL$6 241,7938.
“We must address the impact of Statutory Instrument 118A of 2022, which has resulted in formal retailers having to price their goods at the in-store rate plus 10%,” Nyoni said, during a tour of tuckshops in selected places on Monday.
“This regulation has inadvertently made their products more expensive in US$ terms.”
The 10% mark-up has allowed firms to price their goods and services in a way that allows them to keep the value of those products and professionals offerings, albeit not entirely owing to a premium on parallel market pricing.
In response to Nyoni’s comments, Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers president Denford Mutashu told Source that SI 118A of 2022 had served its purpose and now needed to be removed.
“That statutory instrument must be categorically repealed. I think it has served its purpose; it is causing discomfort on the market. There is a lot of confusion in pricing so it must be repealed and allow businesses to function according to market forces,” he said.
Source Newsday
