By Rungano Dzikira

The Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) has called on retailers to comply and complement Government’s foreign currency auction system, as it has since aided in stabilising prices and the runaway exchange rate.

CZR president, Denford Mutashu said that there was need for retailers  to complement Government efforts as this would go a long way in assisting both retailers and consumers bring sanity to the sector.

“CZR wishes to remind retail sector players of the existence of legal requirement that compels them to comply with the newly introduced foreign currency exchange rate system.

“CZR is therefore calling upon business to compliment Government on policy coordination, implementation and compliance and Government to do same. It is CZR’s humble submission that business should support the forex auction system through responsible pricing and compliance,” said Mutashu.

Following reports on pricing distortions currently happening in the market, he urged retailers to peg prices in both local and foreign currency with clear exchange rate boards displayed in each store.

Mutashu however appealed to Government to address systems and software compatibility as availability of fiscalised machines remained a critical necessity.

“There is also a need to increase suppliers of fiscalised machines and the current number remains few while those supplying in some instances have failed to avail spare parts for the machines. There has also been a concern that the available fiscalised machines are also not compatible,” he said.

CZR added that it was therefore in the process of engaging Government to iron out some of these challenges, but urged its members to continue complying with Government regulations.

This statement comes after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) raised concern and expressed strong reservations over selected beneficiaries (retailers) who have been reported to be pegging prices using parallel market rates, a situation which they intend addressed with urgency.