In Summary
In a statement, Nyati Spiritz Ltd said the ban did not
involve packaging of alcohol in glass and plastic bottle, therefore,
manufacturers who met the government’s new regulations should not be worried.
Dar
es Salaam. Following the government’s ban on the packaging of alcohol in
sachets, commonly known as ‘viroba’, one of the country’s biggest liquor
companies says it supports the move, despite an outcry from other firms that
the decision would negatively affect their operations.
In a
statement, Nyati Spiritz Ltd said the ban did not involve packaging of alcohol
in glass and plastic bottle, therefore, manufacturers who met the government’s
new regulations should not be worried.
Government
banned the sachets to curb a potential disastrous health effect on millions of
young Tanzanians who had easy access to ‘viroba’, which were being sold on
roadsides, and along basic food items in neighbourhood tuckshops.
The
ban was also aimed at plugging tax loopholes amid revelations that some
manufacturers of the ‘viroba’ plastics were supplying the black market, causing
the government losses in potential revenue running into hundreds of million shillings
every year.
“The
measures were necessary considering the impact the sachets have on public
health due to their easy accessibility and affordability.
At the same time,
they denied the government revenue,” said the liquor firm.
The import, manufacture,
sale and consumption of alcoholic in sachets was banned with effect from March
2, this year. There were also environmental concerns over the dumping of
plastics.
Source: The Citizen
No comments:
Post a Comment