Zimbabwe wants to regulate when its citizens can buy beer

godfred akoto

September 19, 2017 10:48 AM

The law is the brainchild of the country's former health minister

Purveyors of beer in Zimbabwe could soon find themselves on a timetable after reports that the government plans to enact a law regulating time of sale of the alcoholic beverage.

According to the Sunday Mail newspaper, the National Alcohol Policy will bar the sale of alcohol during some days of the week,some hours of the day and preclude expectant mothers.

The policy is credited to the Welsh born former Health Minister,Dr.Timothy Stamps,now an advisor on health to the Mugabe government.

“Policies are there to give guidance to the general populace and various stakeholders. The reduction of alcohol abuse can be done partly through the law but the rest will be through moral suasion”,Stamps said.

The policy also proposes that any alcohol advertisements should be done further than 100 metres from a road intersection, school, clinic, hospital, church and old people’s homes.

The looming ban has producers in the troubled economy of the country worried with major brewers Delta Corporation and African Distillers set to be the most heavily affected if there is a reduction in sales due to the ban.

For the financial year ending March 31 2017, Delta paid $18.5m in corporate tax and $52.7m in excise duties and levies. The brewer also paid about $79m in Value Added Tax.

godfred akoto