It is unnatural to keep business people from colluding and price fixing. They do that to keep their businesses healthy. If the regime regulates that, the people are going to suffer more. Start producing food and see how expensive it is. Talk is cheap, money buys the whiskey.

I don't disagree but what about compensating consumers who have been ripped off? When Tiger Brands was fined, they put the price up again so we paid twice - once for the price fixing and many times over to pay the fine. Another issue - many FMCG prices doubled and more BEFORE the last fuel increase!

While the unions are at it, why not hold government accountable for their mistakes and the government employees who are caught for fraud be punished.

We have always known that cost of living is too high but this time the phrase is actually crossing the boundry. Many South African are still faced with poverty and to pick up food prices is like deliberately killing our people. The SACP can issue a petition around fellow citizens which I'm very sure that people will support, and in that way the government will see that this matter really affects people's lives in a great sense. This will also help to put this issue in the top agenda of Parliament.

Perhaps one should rather increase the amount of food being grown locally inside South Africa so that the country won't have to import such massive quantities of foreign food -- which is much more expensive than local food. The SACP-ANC-Cosatu alliance has been deliberately destroying the entire commercial agricultural sector in South Africa and this is the result. It's the law of supply and demand: if you don't grow enough food for the entire 47-million-strong population, the food prices go up. Why don't you just leave alone the Afrikaner farmers to do what they do best, namely to produce food for the entire country. Now, more than 6-million primary school children have to be fed in government feeding schemes already - one can only imagine how many millions of families are already going without a decent meal a day if this is any measure of what is going on: however the only answer is to GROW MORE FOOD.

For the first time ever I'm agreeing with COSATU and SACP. Competition is the most important part of an Capitilist economy. This step should have been taken a decade ago. Good example of problem: In january 2008 the price paid to farmers for beef have droppped with 30%, since it is a spiolable commodity this decrease shouild have apparent no more than 2 weeks into January, before any major oil price increases. Tiger brands should also be split up into smaller companies similiar to what the US wants to do with Microsoft.

This corporates should be treated like criminals when they break the law. How do you expect joe soap to respect the laws when corporates get away with a slap on the wrist. As they say, corruption is not only confined within government.

Blade Nzimande now calls to halt increases, tomorrow he organises strikes to increase wages. He has no clue about economics. He must be a communist?