Zimbabwean retailers are banning customers from taking photos of sky-high prices amid threats of action from the government.
Government threats to yank the licenses of businesses hiking costs sent shop bosses into a panic, ordering shelf police to stop shoppers snapping pictures as proof of profiteering and price gouging.
Social media has been ablaze with images of jaw-dropping price hikes, from $12,000 loaves of bread to other everyday staples now out of reach for struggling citizens.
Reporters witnessed customers ordered to bin pictures taken inside one retail giant, with stores deactivating EFTPOS machines to dodge the worthless Zimbabwe dollar.
Officially the Zim dollar is trading at $6,713 but on the black market, it fetches just US$1 for $10,000 — meaning real prices are way beyond the tags.
Locals lashed stores for hiking costs, with some accusing greedy bosses of sabotaging President Emmerson Mnangagwa before elections next month.
The strongman threatened to revoke licenses of price-gouging businesses while freezing the accounts of a dozen retailers for manipulating exchange rates.
Retail chiefs claim they are struggling due to the chaotic cash situation but critics say they’re just passing the buck for profiteering.
Economists warn it’s too late to fix the battered local dollar, suggesting Zimbabwe just sticks with the greenback instead.
The pic ban fiasco shows retailers panicking to cover their tracks as a government clampdown looms – but shoppers aren’t buying their excuses.
