THE Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) has called for greater collaboration among the Treasury, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the consumer rights body to curb speculative pricing.
Businesses have resorted to forward and speculative pricing to avoid any potential losses on their services or goods in the event of a depreciation in the local currency.
However, such pricing mechanisms have increased the cost of living for consumers who are hamstrung by high inflation, volatile exchange rates and eroding disposable incomes, which have severely diminished their purchasing power.
In a statement, CCZ raised concern over the high cost of living and harsh realities of the economy and urged the government to provide fair and affordable service delivery to consumers.
The statement was in response to last week’s 2025 Mid-Term Budget and Economic Review from the Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion minister Mthuli Ncube.
“There is an urgent need for targeted price monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, especially on basic consumer goods and services,” CCZ said.
“Greater collaboration is required among the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank, and consumer watchdogs to curb speculative pricing.”
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CCZ called for a consumer engagement framework to be developed under the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with CCZ and local authorities, to institutionalise consumer participation in public finance decisions.
“The Mid-Term Budget Review contains encouraging signs of macroeconomic stability and increased investment in social infrastructure. However, the benefits must tangibly reach the consumer, especially in the form of affordable, quality goods and services,” CCZ said.
“The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe remains committed to advocating for a just, fair and accountable economic environment where consumer rights are safeguarded, and their voices amplified.”
CCZ said the review offered several signals that directly impacted Zimbabwean consumers.
“From a consumer protection standpoint, the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe welcomes government’s commitment to stability and social service delivery. However, there remain areas of concern, especially regarding the cost of living, consumer access to services and transparency in pricing and regulation,” CCZ said.
CCZ noted that despite ZiG’s stability, consumers are still facing high annual inflation, low-income and market pricing disparities in the market, revealing a gap in Treasury’s planning on the issues concerning consumers.
“The Mid-Term Review highlights that month-on-month ZiG inflation remained stable, averaging 0,5%, with exchange rate stability at US$1: ZiG26,7,” CCZ said.
“While this macroeconomic stability is commendable, consumers are still battling high prices, driven by persistently high annual inflation (92,5% in June). Base effect explanations offer little relief to low-income households, market pricing disparities, especially in rural versus urban areas, as well as in formal and informal markets.”
Despite this, the consumer watchdog praised the Mid-Term Budget Review for containing encouraging signs of macroeconomic stability and increased investment in social infrastructure.
“However, the benefits must tangibly reach the consumer, especially in the form of affordable, quality goods and services,” CCZ said.
“The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe remains committed to advocating for a just, fair and accountable economic environment where consumer rights are safeguarded, and their voices amplified.”
Through Statutory Instrument (SI) 34 of 2025, Treasury repealed SI81A of 2024, which penalised anyone pricing goods or services above the official exchange rate.
The repeal was meant to allow market liberalisation in the pricing of goods and services, which in part would also curb speculative pricing.
