By Prince Banda
Lilongwe, MANA: The Leader of opposition in the parliament Kondwani Nankhumwa has urged government to protect rights of consumers from vendors who are raising the prices of goods unreasonably after the effects of tropical cyclone Freddy.
Nankhumwa made this statement in the parliament on Wednesday, when President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera made a statement on Cyclone Freddy.
According to Nankhumwa, some vendors are taking advantage of the disaster in the southern region and dry spells in the northern by raising prices of basic necessities such as maize.
“Some vendors are taking advantage of the dire need for basic necessities such as food in both regions and sadly some vendors for instance in Limbe are selling a 50 kilogramme bag of maize at K38,000,” Nankhumwa said.
He further asked government through the Ministry of Industry and Trade as well as through Competition and Fair Trade Commission to fully address the issue.
“While we as a country are nursing this calamity emanated from these disasters, government needs to make sure that nobody should take advantage by abusing the rights of consumers.”
“This can only be achieved if government empowers the Ministry of Industry and Trade as well as the Commission for Competition and Fair Trade to do their job particularly in the affected areas” he said.
Leader of the house in Parliament Richard Chimwendo Banda welcomed the suggestion and concurred with Nankhumwa saying that this malpractice needs to be checked as government is addressing challenges emanating from the disaster.
“It has been the essence of today’s discussion to help one another on how we can better deal with the tragedy that has befallen our country. So I consider this suggestion worth to be taken into account as we look forward to re-energise the lives of our people,” He said.
