By Parvel H. Makona
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce working with the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) has launched a blitz in Harare’s central business district to tackle counterfeit, expired and underweight products while raising awareness of fair business practices.
The operation carried out with support from the Zimbabwe Republic Police, Trade Measures and private sector partners saw teams engaging retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers on compliance standards.
Regional Trade Measures inspector Tawedzerwa Muwani said the initiative was a direct response to public complaints about counterfeit goods.
“There are a lot of things happening in business including underweight products, fake products and expired products. As we go around the shops, we educate consumers and retailers to ensure that when they buy, they buy properly packaged products using the right measurements,” he said
Muwani added that government had recently reduced licensing fees to ease compliance pressures while also stressing the importance of transparency in trade.
The blitz forms part of the Zimbabwe Industrial Reconstruction and Growth Plan (2024–2025) aligned to the government’s Vision 2030 strategy of building an empowered upper-middle income society.
Director of Communications and Advocacy in the ministry, Coline Dzavakwa said the drive sought to strengthen consumer confidence while promoting Zimbabwean-made goods.
“Whilst we promote local content strategy, we also want products to be manufactured and produced with the utmost quality such that the consumer can benefit from our local producers,” he said.
Retailers welcomed the awareness campaign with some urging better coordination between regulators, manufacturers and suppliers to smoothen returns and refunds.
One shop supervisor said “We as retailers have the right to return products if there is an error and to refund customers their money. We urge the ministry to engage more with suppliers to ensure this process is smooth.”
The Ministry also introduced a toll-free line for traders to report challenges and seek guidance.
Officials emphasised that awareness was central to compliance.
“When a person is educated about a certain topic, they are most likely to perform better and respond better,” said Dzavakwa.
As part of its education efforts, inspectors highlighted the importance of buying and selling based on units of measurement rather than value using fuel purchases as an example.
The campaign will continue as part of broader efforts to strengthen Zimbabwe’s economy and achieve sustainable growth under Vision 2030.
