President Mnangagwa has singled out diversified conglomerate Innscor for “unjustifiably” raising prices of basic commodities such as bread, which has led to the suffering of ordinary people. During an event to commission Chivhu Dam, the President said that the government will establish rural industrial centres to support the food production value chain and deal with unscrupulous businesses. The proposed centres will produce maize meal and flour at cheaper prices, which will make it difficult for businesses like Innscor to sell their products. The President urged people to produce at least 10 tonnes of wheat per hectare to maintain food self-sufficiency. He said:
Tanga tiine mhesva mukono inonzi Innscor who were constantly hiking price of basic commodities. Now as we plan we need to set up rural industrial centres here. If people grow maize and wheat, we will install a plant that will mill maize meal and produce flour and sell at cheaper prices.
When Innscor trucks come with their bread, they will find no taker. This is because we will be self-sufficient in terms of everything that you might want that include bread, maize, fish, water including a caring party ZANU PF.
President Mnangagwa warned businesses against “unjustified” price hikes, affirming that the government will not tolerate such practices. The past few weeks have seen businesses increasing the prices of basic commodities, causing suffering to ordinary people. The government says some of these businesses have been charging exclusively in US dollars or indexing their prices against black market foreign exchange rates, despite having access to cheaper foreign currency at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s auction market.
However, some economists argue that the government’s policy inconsistencies may have triggered the price hikes.
Zimbabwe has faced significant economic instability, including hyperinflation, currency devaluation, shortages of basic goods, high unemployment rates, and political instability. The causes are a combination of factors, such as corruption, and poor economic policies. The government has implemented measures such as adopting a multicurrency system, introducing a new local currency, and launching economic reforms, but these have not been sufficient to stabilise the economy.