By Elias Limwanya

The opposition Patriots for Economic Progress (PEP) dismayed that commodity prices have continued skyrocketing despite the Zambia Kwacha gaining against the US Dollar in the last two months.

PEP President, Sean Tembo, argues that the exchange rate appreciating by more than 30 percent in the past two months, could have impacted positively in the shelf price of goods in shops but to no avail.
The PEP leader observes that when the Kwacha was depreciating, prices were rising daily on the basis that it was expensive to import goods amid high cost of operations.

Mr. Tembo notes that failure by business houses to reduce commodity prices after the exchange rate appreciated from about K23 to about K16 per US Dollar, is exploiting consumers who are already hit by low income bases.

Mr. Tembo stresses that delay by businesses to lower prices means thay are making abnormal profit, a move he says goes against the World Trade Organization (WTO) as well as United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) regulations on fair trading.

The opposition party wants the ruling UPND administration and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) to prevail on the business community to reduce prices of goods by the same proportion of the appreciation of the Kwacha.
PRIME TV