Zimbabwe: 'Illicit Alcohol Is Killing Youths and No Longer Just a Crime, but a Public Health Emergency', Says Top Zimbabwean Got Official

INDUSTRY and Commerce minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu says illicit alcohol is no longer just a crime, but a public health emergency.

Ndlovu confirmed this week that "productive youths" are being targeted by dangerous brews made outside the law.

"Industry and Commerce ministry has noted with concern the proliferation of harmful substances and illicit alcoholic beverages that expose consumers to serious health risks, undermine fair competition, threaten the social fabric and economic development of our nation.

"They are brewed in backyards, sold in plastic bottles, and they are landing Zimbabwe's young people in hospital.

"Unfortunately, our productive youths are increasingly exposed to these dangerous products which are manufactured and distributed clandestinely outside the bounds of the law," Ndlovu said in a statement this weekend.The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) recently arrested a Harare syndicate, but officials say the problem runs deeper. Many brewers hide in backyards to dodge inspection.

Said Ndlovu, "A nationwide blitz exposed the scale: 1009 shops checked, 40 prosecuted, illicit stock seized, yet the trade persists because penalties have been too soft. That's changing.

"While investigations and court processes are progressing, the ministry reaffirms its commitment to ensure that consumer rights and public health remain safeguarded."Government is pushing courts for maximum fines of up to 2.5% of a company's annual profit - under the Consumer Protection Act."

The Consumer Protection Commission, ZRP and Medicines Control Authority (MCAZ) are now working together to pull counterfeit and mislabelled products off shelves.

The minister warned that offenders will face the full wrath of the law.

"Perpetrators will face prosecution," the minister said, urging the public to report suspicious brewers to relevant authorities.

"For families in Mbare and Chitungwiza, the message is blunt: 'that cheap bottle could cost a life'."

Meanwhile, the ministry is engaging the courts so that maximum deterrent penalties are imposed including administrative fines of up to two and a half per centum of annual net profit to ensure regulatory conformity and the protection of consumers.

Read the original article on New Zimbabwe.