Zimbabwe Business Watch : Week 27
Zimbabwean Industry and Commerce, still reeling from the threatened “indigenisation / take over” of their companies, this week had to face the prospect of being forced out of business by a government directive that insisted that all prices be cut by around 50%. This would put every enterprise into a loss making situation.
Business organisations have condemned the behaviour and the brief survey conducted shows that many supermarkets are taking perishable goods from the shelves and placing them in cold storage. Others plan to sell their displayed stock at the controlled pricing and then close their businesses. Robert Mugabe has threatened to take over any companies that do not conform. Uniformed police armed with automatic rifles have been questioning Store Managers.
What this effectively means is that businesses are being instructed to sell goods at a price for less than the purchase price charged by the Manufacturer. Government has labeled business in Zimbabwe as a group seeking regime change.
Related articles in the media:
- Warning of state of emergency as Zimbabweans shun cash payments in favour of food (Sunday Independent, via ZWNEWs)
- Chaos in Zim price crackdown (Finance24)
- Zimbabwe gold firms working below fifth of capacity (Mining Weekly)
