By Patience Lunda:
Rising prices of cement have angered stakeholders, with the Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC) indicating that it has received complaints on the same.
Cement prices have, in the past four months, been on the rise, moving from K11,500 earlier this year to K18,000 in some outlets.
CFTC spokesperson Innocent Helema said Tuesday that the commission has received complaints on the issue.
Helema said what is happening is a clear indication that some traders are taking advantage of the situation where cement is on high demand to exploit consumers.
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He said they have launched investigations into the issue so that suppliers that are found to be in the wrong can be taken to task.
“We always monitor the market through market inspections and surveillance for possible violations of [provisions of] the Competition and Fair Trading Act and this case will be dealt with in a similar way,” Helema said.
The development comes at a time the Ministry of Trade has issued a statement in which it has warned traders not to raise prices of the product unnecessarily.
According to the ministry, they do not expect the price of any type of cement to exceed K16, 000.
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In a statement signed by Secretary for Trade and Industry Christina Zakeyo Tuesday, the ministry indicates that the tendency is exploitative and is in contravention of the Competitions and Fair – Trading Act.
“The ministry, therefore, calls on members of the general public with information relating to those charging excessive prices for cement to immediately report to the ministry or the Competition and Fair Trading Commission,” the statement reads.
On his part, Consumers Association of Malawi Executive Director John Kapito said there is a need for the ministry to conduct surveillance exercises in all the districts and take to book the culprits.
“They should go on the ground to ensure that traders are not overpricing the commodity,” he said.
On his part, Betchani Tchereni, an economist from the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, wondered why some traders are overpricing cement that is manufactured in the country.
“Of course, forex shortages are there but some traders are taking advantage of the situation to steal from people and the ministry should ensure that this is not happening,” he said.
Spot checks conducted in Mzuzu City indicated that cement was available in a few shops.
