Government has commenced inspection of supermarket chains amid rising prices of commodities. 

Minister of Trade Mark Katsonga-Phiri disclosed this at Bua Primary School Ground in Mchinji during the commemoration of this year’s World Consumer Rights Day.

According to Katsonga-Phiri, unreasonable rise in prices of commodities is unfair trading practice and that government will intervene on the matter.

He said: “All service providers should ensure that they are providing goods and services that enable consumers enjoy value for money.”

He has since described the trend as a sabotage by some unscrupulous traders towards government.

“It is unfortunate that some unscrupulous traders take advantage of unsuspecting consumers to unfairly deprive them of their hard earned cash.

“Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to urge traders or service providers to cease and desist from engaging in various unfair trading practices,” said Katsonga-Phiri.

Whilst acknowledging the trend, Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC) acting Executive Director Apoche Itimu said unlike in the past, consumers are now well knowledgeable of their rights.

“Yes, we still have unfair trading practices but I think we have done great strides over the years, our consumers becoming aware of their rights,” Itimu said.

“Things are improving, we still have a long way to go but I believe that we have also done some good progress in that area.”

The day, which is commemorated on March 15 globally, was observed under the theme “Fair Digital Finance”.

According to the World Bank report of 2020, 40 percent of the adult population in Malawi are now using financial institutions, and the figure is significantly higher when mobile money services are included.