Govt on alert as shops quietly hike prices

Ahead of the lockdown, Masisi had ordered that traders not increase prices of food supplies, pharmaceuticals, and medical supplies and equipment. In a gazette regulation, the President had said these goods should be sold at cost, meaning suppliers, including traders and shops, should not put profit mark ups on them. 

However, a snap survey by Mmegi indicates that some shops have increased the prices of some of these specified goods, such as food, hand sanitisers, meat and others, violating the regulations passed. In one shop, Mmegi found that meat prices had doubled during the lockdown, without explanation to consumers.