President Emmerson Mnangagwa said that the government will revoke trading licences from retailers who continue pricing mealie meal at twice the gazetted price.
President Mnangagwa made the remarks during January’s clean-up campaign in Kuwadzana, Harare on Friday. He said:
Roller-meal is now pegged at $105 as I heard, but we said mealie-meal prices must go down to $50.
If there are crooks, businessmen who don’t listen to the government because we give them subsidies and they can’t benefit twice, misoro yavo (damn them). We will have laws that deal with fools who don’t listen.
We will reach a stage where we will withdraw licences of those who do not listen and they stay at home.
In December last year, the government directed retailers to sell roller meal for $50 per 10kg bag after it had promised to provide grain millers with subsided maize.
The price of mealie meal per 10 kg bag had shot to over $100.00 before the directive. Meanwhile, the subsided mealie meal remains very scarce on the market.