Mozambique: INAE warns pharmacies | First signs of panic buying in Maputo | Vigilance will increase on borders – AIM report

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Mozambique: INAE warns pharmacies | First signs of panic buying in Maputo | Vigilance will increase on borders – AIM report

6:44 CAT | 21 Mar 2020

Photo: O País

Mozambique’s National Inspectorate of Economic Activities (INAE) is monitoring prices charged in pharmacies for goods related with the Covid-19 pandemic, and has warned that strong measures could be taken against those who charge speculative prices.

Speaking at a Maputo press conference on Friday, the director of industry, tourism and transport in INAE, Virginia Muianga, said there had been a large number of complaints from the public about pharmacies hiking their prices.

The complaints, she said, concerned products such as hand sanitizer, face masks and vitamin C supplements. So INAE, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health’s own inspectorate, had decided to pay unannounced visits to the pharmacies.

The INAE brigades visited 25 pharmacies on Thursday, to ascertain the real situation and to persuade the owners to keep their prices stable.

“We confirmed that there really has been a rise in the prices of vitamin C supplements, and of hygiene products for individual use”, said Muianga. The inspectors had also found that some of the pharmacies were selling goods that were past their expiry date.

Muianga said that INAE will act, not only against speculation in the pharmacies, but also against unjustified price rises of other basic goods. “The brigades are on the ground working”, she said. “Several situations of prices rises have been reported, and we are working to end this situation”.

She pointed out that the sanctions against speculators may include the seizure of the goods concerned, which can then be offered to hospitals, creches, old people’s homes and prisons.

Panic buying in Maputo

Meanwhile, there have been the first signs of panic buying, in the wake of the stringent social distancing measures announced by President Filipe Nyusi on Friday, which included the closure of all schools as from Monday, and a ban on all gatherings of more than 50 people.

On Saturday morning, the independent television station STV found a rush under way of citizens seeking to buy additional stocks of food in the Maputo markets, particularly the Zimpeto wholesale market, on the outskirts of the city.

There were long queues of cars at Zimpeto, and some of those interviewed by STV said they were buying food for the next two months.

But the administrator of the Zimpeto market, Maria Chombene, said there is no indication that the market will close. Prices had remained steady, she added, and the market had enough goods to supply the needs of the consumers.

Vigilance will be increased on the borders

Deputy Health Minister Lidia Cardoso told STV that vigilance will be increased on the borders to ensure that all people entering the country, whether Mozambican or foreign, abide by the quarantine rules.

Prior to the measures announced by Nyusi on Friday, only people from the 20 countries most affected by Covid-19 were subject to quarantine. But now anybody entering the country, no matter where from, must go into quarantine for 14 days.

There have been alarming reports of people breaking quarantine. Thus in the northern city of Nampula, health staff, checking on people who ought to be in quarantine, found that two Chinese citizens had broken quarantine in order to visit a local supermarket. Their excuse was that they had nobody to do their shopping for them.

The Ministry of Health announced on Friday that it has acquired an extra 50 ambulances. Although these were not purchased specifically because of Covid-19, a note from the Ministry said they would help in the movement of patients in the event of any Covid-19 outbreak.

Source: AIM