By Patience Lunda:
The Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC) have condemned traders who have stopped displaying prices of goods.
The development comes after some retail shops have, in the past six weeks, stopped displaying prices of goods, a development two managers in Mzuzu and Blantyre attributed to the volatility of the Kwacha.
“Prices are rising everyday, meaning that we will be doing a lot of paperwork if we were to be displaying new prices of goods almost everyday. In fact, we buy the material we write on, not forgetting the ink and paper we use to print prices on.
“Let the authorities fix economic malady first and everything shall be well with us. The real value of the Kwacha is what is prevailing on the black market, where it is, in some cases, trading at K4,200 to one United States dollar,” said one trader in Blantyre yesterday.
This is happening at a time consumers have lamented rising prices of goods, which are changing value almost everyday.
Principal Secretary for Trade and Industry Christina Zakeyo said Tuesday, in a statement, that those found indulging in the malpractice would be brought to book.
She further urged consumers to be reporting traders who are not displaying prices of products to the authorities.
Zakeyo said errant traders could face sanctions that include a fine of up to 10 percent of total gross annual turnover in the case of enterprises and up to 3 percent of annual income for individuals because it is a violation of provisions of the Competition and Fair Trading Act (CFTA).
Additionally, the ministry and CFTC have said prices displayed should include taxes and levies and must be in local currency.
“Unless if [sic] the trader has authorisation to use other currencies… The ministry and CFTC would like to warn traders that it is a violation of the CFTA to conduct trade without informing the consumer by way of displaying prices,” the statement reads.
However, Consumers Association of Malawi Executive Director John Kapito alleged that government institutions were better at lip service than law enforcement.
Kapito asked the Ministry and CFTC to ensure that they also enforce this among informal market traders to ensure that consumers are protected at all levels.
“The laws are there but enforcement has always been a challenge, which is why the traders take advantage [of consumers]. There is a need for proper enforcement of laws so that this should not be happening. All traders found [in the wrong] should be held accountable for their actions,” Kapito said.
Among other things, Section 51 (n) of the CFTA stipulates that a person shall not, in relation to a consumer, fail to display or indicate prices of goods, digital products and services.
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