The Government has reportedly ordered representatives of business member organisations (BMOs) to desist from commenting on rising prices of basic goods and services.
In a survey carried out by Business Times, business leaders from all BMOs said they could not comment on rising prices saying there are ongoing engagements with the Government and could only comment after the current crisis had been resolved.
The publication quoted a source as saying state security agents have warned business representatives that if the situation goes out of hand, they will be held accountable for their “reckless utterances”. Said the source:
The government has taken the price madness personally as it sent state agents to business representatives to stop what it terms reckless utterances in the public as this triggered an unfavourable situation in the country which is already on edge.
The business leaders were told to speak at their peril as if the situation goes out of hand in the country there will be no one to blame but themselves.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Sunday accused businesses of sabotaging the Government and warned that he was ready to take all necessary measures including painful ones to stabilise the exchange rate and the Zimbabwe dollar.
The Zimbabwe dollar fell by 25.5% on the official market on Tuesday, the biggest collapse in one day since the auction system was introduced three years ago.
The local currency now officially trades at 1 888 to the US dollar from 1 404 a week ago.
However, on the parallel market, the Zimbabwe dollar was trading at $3 500 to the greenback on Wednesday, according to NewsDay.
Economists have blamed excessive money supply by the Government for recent price hikes and the rapid depreciation of the Zimbabwe dollar.
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