Watch: Stockpiling frenzy as customers prep for isolation
It’s like a scene from a Doomsday Preppers episode – or a throwback to the days leading up to the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990 – in many South African stores on Monday, where consumers are ensuring that they are fully provisioned for an anticipated spell locked in to their homes as they see out the coronavirus threat.
Videos appearing online on Monday 16 March show long queues of trolleys overflowing with a variety of goods – from toilet paper to beer – at stores such a Macro and Game.
Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to condemn South Africa to a State of Disaster on Sunday evening, life as we know it has changed in a flash.
The general consensus is that it’s sensible to distance oneself from other people, and this means working remotely and staying indoors.
Watch: Customers spend like it’s Black Friday at stores nationwide:
Shelves are now being left empty, leaving many on social media questioning whether or not such practices should be allowed.
“I won’t lie this makes me feel so hateful right now because some of us don’t even know where the next meal will come from. But people are stocking like it’s doomsday,” said a Twitter user.
Concerns have been raised that stores have been taking advantage of the panic and raising prices on goods, while others have called for stores to be closed or managed appropriately to ensure that Ramaphosa’s order for crowds of no more than 100 people to be convened.
Competition Commission on high alert
Minister of Trade and Industry, Ebrahim Patel, says the Competition Commission will be on high alert to ensure that consumers are not taken advantage of.
“What has been strong and important for us is that we have a domestic industrial capability to provide basic goods and make sure there are no disruptions,” he said.
The South African has reached out to Makro management to find out what measures, if any, they have put in place and will update this story when that comment lands.
No comments: