Editor,

The Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Industry recently recommended that retail price for sugar be set at Rwf 800 per kilogramme. However, some shop owners have refused to comply with the directive.

I live in Bwiza village, in Kicukiro District. On Sunday, last week, a shopkeeper within the neighbourhood sold the commodity to me at Rwf1, 000.

When I insisted that the government had reduced it to Rwf800, she could hear none of it.

She explained that she also was buying sugar at a high cost and there no way she could reduce the price.

The government had earlier cautioned all traders against hiking the prices of sugar again after it had waived certain tariffs to encourage the importation of sugar.

Sugar is a key commodity and exorbitant price increments automatically put a strain on the lives of the consumers. The government should punish shop owners who refused to comply with the new directives. Consumers need to be informed about the exact price.

Sugar is an important domestic commodity, so government should intervene in the matter soon.

Ivan Muvunyi
Kicukiro