No license to bankrupt

There was a virtually audible sigh of relief when it was announced that the Ministry of Trade and Industry was on to the rampant overcharging by unscrupulous business persons on a much aggrieved public.
Girma Birru, Minister of Trade and Industry, was firm in reproaching those greedy traders who are abusing the consumer by hiking prices on a wide variety of goods under cover of the recent 10% surtax. The minister’s warning to take imminent measures against profiteers was like a breeze of fresh air to a public which was starting to doubt whether the government is after all, wholly on the side of business interests.
What characterizes the present state of consumer and retailer relations? For starters, the public is dismayed by being charged more on local products that have no foreign inputs whatsoever. Consumers feel their intelligence has been insulted –otherwise, why would traders tell us that cooking oil pressed from Ethiopian oilseeds by Ethiopians and sold without a container is subject to 10% or more hikes?
Another major concern besides the direct and blatantly exaggerated price hikes has been the creation of new tiers in the distribution chain. No longer do the soft drinks, beer, and mineral water trucks make deliveries to each and every outlet, be it supermarket or kiosk. Each neighborhood has spawned self –styled distributors who have a monopoly on that area’s beverage supply. Such artificial echelons in the distribution system remind us of the Derg era and its ‘Ayer be-Ayer’ experts in black economics. We urge the Ministry of Trade and Industry to also strike hard at such malpractice and the perpetrators brought to justice.
Minister Girma used cavalry terms when he explained that the free market principles cannot be used to abuse the consumer. Yes, we agree. The free market is not a stallion to ride rough shod over the public’s purchasing power. We might add for all those business people who tarnish the reputation of the many other civic minded, law abiding traders-your 007 license to bankrupt has been revoked.
There is also the issue of counterfeit goods that are swamping the market. As pricess increase, it is to be expected that fraudsters will have more incentives to swindle consumers who in any case, cannot afford the real thing. Housewives are buying cooking oil that looks as if it comes out of a diesel engine. We are forced to buy sugar that is only so in name and color but not taste. There are indications that the weight of bread has decreased.
The esteemed Ministry of Trade and Industry should not only focus on prices but also on content of goods sold.
Although the Ministry’s action is welcome, such periodic raids on overcharging businesses can only be but a stop-gap measure. The wisest thing to do is to devise market monitoring and control methods that will relate with sudden increments. The business person and the consumer should have the means to gauge by what measure prices could increase whenever a new fuel price or taxation is introduced. Pricing should not be the prerogative of the supplier but of a consensual partnership with the government and consumers.
Additionally, what ever happened to the notion of a profit cap on retail sales? Free market or not, it can’t be allowed that 100% profit can be made legally with out hurting the economy.
There is already a consumer backlash being sensed by especially restaurant owners as the dining public has shied away from the untouchable prices on the menu.
Finally, we urge the public to co-operate and out those relatively few businesses that are giving the majority a bad name.
The ministry’s decision could not have come any sooner. With out such action the risk is that we will all overcharge one another to oblivion.