Major supermarkets and other outlets in and around Harare
were trading normally over the weekend and taking all forms of payment.
Government dismissed the mischievous reports, warning those
who abused social media to peddle false information risked arrest.
The public panicked over the weekend after tuckshop
operators and small businesses started hiking prices and rejecting Ecocash and
bank transfers as a means of payment.
People started stocking cartons of cooking oil, soap and
other groceries, creating an artificial shortage in parts of the city.
A survey by The Herald yesterday showed that bigger
supermarkets like OK, Pick n Pay, Spar, Choppies and others were fully stocked
and trading at normal prices while accepting all forms of payment.
In a statement last night, Home Affairs Minister Dr
Ignatius Chombo dismissed as false and unfounded social media claims of chaos
in the currency markets.
“The Ministry of Home Affairs’ attention has been drawn to
a sudden spate of irresponsible press and social media reports falsely claiming
that there is chaos in the currency markets that has precipitated widespread
panic buying of basic commodities due to their alleged shortage or skyrocketing
prices,” said Minister Chombo.
He said it was notable that the running thread of these
hyperbolic press and social media reports was their propaganda that the country
had suddenly slipped back to the hyperinflationary days of 2008.
“Of grave concern to the ministry is that these reports
have all the trappings of a politically coordinated criminal agenda by some
well-known renegades and malcontents who now seek to disturb the peace in the
country to cause alarm and despondency in pursuit of an alleged political
programme.”
Minister Chombo said spreading alarm and despondency was
not an expression of democracy nor was it media freedom.
Minister Chombo
Minister Chombo
“It is a criminal offense and is therefore punishable. In
the circumstances, Government is closely monitoring the press and social media
reports in question with a view to taking decisive action to deal a telling
blow to the perpetrators of the crime in terms of the laws of the country’s
criminal justice system.”
In some shops, cooking oil shelves were empty while other
traders restricted each customer to buy a single 2-litre bottle.
Panic buying began on Saturday morning but by late
yesterday the situation had normalised.
Disturbingly, some general dealers in Glen View and parts
of Chitungwiza were reportedly selling 2-litre bottles of cooking oil for as
much as between $5 and $8,50 from $3,39.
Hardware shops selling building materials in Mbare lost
business yesterday due to price distortions. Some customers rejected the
ridiculous prices and terms of trade.
Moto Steel, which sells deformed bars and other steel
materials in Mbare, was demanding only United States dollars, with no price
list for transfers or bond notes and coins.
“We are only accepting US dollars cash. No swipe and we
also do not accept bond notes. If you need a price list for bond notes, Ecocash
or swipe, try to check with us tomorrow or Tuesday,” said a shop attendant.
Steel Centre was taking bond notes but had doubled prices
of its merchandise.
For 12-millimetre deformed bars, Steel Centre was charging
US$3 each and $6 bond notes. It wasn’t accepting swipe or Ecocash transactions.
Sure Cast Cement (42,5) was increased from $11,80 per 50kg
bag to $12 at hardware shops at Manyame Park Complex in Chitungwiza while the
price of a PPC PC15 (32,5) bag of cement rose from $10,70 to $10,90 yesterday.
The hardware shops at the complex were accepting all forms
of payment.
Long queues were observed at major fuel traders like Total
and Puma where they were accepting all forms of payment. Smaller dealers were
demanding cash payments only.
At Mashwede Service Station near Matapi Police Station in
Mbare, fuel attendants were demanding cash and turned away motorists who wanted
to use swipe cards or Ecocash.
Glow Petroleum service stations in and around the city were
also demanding cash while Trek Service Station along Seke Road turned away
motorists who wanted to use bank cards claiming the system was down.
Over the weekend, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said it had
increased foreign currency allocation for basic and essential commodities to
curtail threats of shortages.
RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya said the central bank would allocate
an additional US$30 million a week for basic and essential commodities imports
with an additional US$15 million being spent on fuel and electricity imports.
He said the injection of additional foreign currency
followed marginal increases in prices of goods and commodities in most shops in
Harare fuelled by speculative social media reports of impending shortages.
The development triggered panic buying and illegal monetary
transactions.
Dr Mangudya dismissed suggestions that most basic
commodities were beginning to disappear from shop shelves.
The RBZ has also introduced a US$600 million Nostro
Stabilisation Facility from Cairo-headquartered African Export Import Bank
(Afreximbank) to start addressing the foreign currency deficit on the market.
The nostro stabilisation facility is meant to deal with
ongoing delays in the processing of foreign payments by banks for the
procurement of productive imports as part of a raft of measures to stabilise
the economy.
The facility will cover the foreign currency gap that
widened after the closure of the 2017 tobacco marketing season. Herald
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