Mozambique: Issuing of licenses for alcoholic drinks suspended- AIM report

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Mozambique: Issuing of licenses for alcoholic drinks suspended- AIM report

6:11 CAT | 07 Aug 2025

Photo: O País

The Mozambican government has decided to suspend temporarily the issuing of new licenses for the production and sale of alcoholic drinks.

This move is aimed specifically at the cheap spirits known as Xivontxongo. These drinks are aimed at young consumers and are readily available on Maputo street corners.

They are much cheaper than the beer or wine sold by reputable businesses. Thus a 200 ml bottle of Xivontxongo may cost, for example, 50 meticais (78 dollars cents, at the current exchange rate).

The government’s measure comes just two days after the independent television station STV published a devastating report on the excessive consumption of these drinks by young people in Maputo, including outside schools. The problem has been known and commented on for years, but it took a television programme to shame the government into action.

According to a statement by the Economy Ministry, the government will soon approve new regulations to control the production, sale, and consumption of alcoholic drinks, as a way to mitigate the harmful effects of alcohol consumption and effectively protect consumer rights.

According to the government spokesperson, and Minister for State Administration, Inocêncio Impissa, speaking on Tuesday to reporters after a meeting of the Council of Ministers (cabinet), “the government will try to effectively close these factories”. He claimed “this doesn’t mean shutting down a beverage factory, but rather the production of a specific line of products that is consumed and has been proving harmful to society, particularly young people.”

The labels on the plastic bottles usually describe the product as “gin”, but it bears little resemblance to the gin one might buy at a reputable bar or restaurant. STV found that some of the companies selling these drinks are duly registered and even pay taxes.

Impissa stressed it is urgent to remove all those selling these products from the vicinity of schools. He added that a committee led by the Ministry of Economy has already been created to ensure inspections at various factories to ensure the sale of these beverages is limited.

Impissa warned that after improving the new regulations, anyone violating them will be sanctioned. “What is happening now is the creation of an effective regulation prohibiting this practice”, he said.

Source: AIM