Gov’t extends deadline for sachet whisky ban

By Sylvanus Ezieh Acha’ana in Yaounde

Government has supplemented the deadline for the production and consumption of sachet and plastic whiskies by two years. The later deadline was decreed on August 12 in Yaounde during a signature convention to effectively apply the norms on the production of strong drinks in Cameroon.

The controversial deadline was reached against the backdrop of rising production and consumption of sachet and plastic spirits. The state had earlier put a ban on the production of sachet whiskies. But the ban seems to have been ineffective. It is not yet clear if the later decision was reached as a result of the inefficiency of the previous proscription.

Last Friday’s convention witnessed the presence of some three government ministers; the minister of mines, industries and technological development, Emmanuel Bonde, minster of trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga and the minister of public health, André Mama Fouda.

Asked if the massive presence of the trio was an emphasis on the serenity of the belated decision, an anonymous director in the ministry of mines, industries and technological developments pulsated that the adverse impact of the production and consumption of the drink affects the three represented ministries.

Following the previous ban some three years behind, some production companies which could not adhere to the prescribed conditions by ANOR had allegedly succumbed to the proscription by folding up. The case of the African Distilling Company, ADIC is a salient example.

Meanwhile, Tchoffo Jean Baptiste, an expert at the Standard and Quality Agency, better known by its French acronym ANOR told reporters that the producers have been given two more years of grace to regularize their packaging quality. He said any whisky reduced in Cameroon for both home consumption and exportation would be required to be certified by ANOR.

Experts have blamed the high rate of consumption on its relative cheap cost which renders it available for every body. Government thinks that the exclusive bottling of whisky would render it more expensive; leading to the reduction of consumption rate.

Meantime, some of the companies involved in the production and distribution of the disputed whisky include CPC, GFAC, SOFAVINC, SODICAM, ADIC, LCC, ADP etc.