Zimbabwe goes after retailers pricing goods in US dollars
Zimbabwean government has dealt the manufacturers and retailers a heavy blow by penalising the companies which are pricing and selling their goods in US dollars.
The first to fall foul of a government crackdown on the practice is Schweppes Holdings Africa through its BeitBridge Juicing Company, which produces the popular Mazoe orange juice.
In a letter to the company, the finance ministry's secretary, George Guvamatanga, said his office had been informed about the claims. He said "pending the conclusion of investigations on your pricing model, the suspension of duty facility has been revoked".
This happened at a time when Zimbabwe's economy was already in recession and had contracted by 6%. Output dropped because of economic instability and the removal of subsidies on maize meal, fuel, and electricity, as well as suppressed foreign exchange earnings, the African Development Bank's Economic Outlook said.
The South African nation has been dogged by US-led sanctions for nearly two decades now. Since 2003, the U.S.
Department of the Treasury has imposed financial sanctions
against individuals and entities in the country for defying Washington's bully behaviours.
The US successive governments since then have been claiming that the sanctions are only targeting those undermining
democracy, human rights abuses, or public corruption.
