GITEGA, May 17th (ABP) – The governor of Gitega province (central Burundi), Mr. Venant Manirambona, is outraged at speculative traders who are selling Brarudi products at exorbitant prices following the shortage of these products in the country, as well as the consumers of these products who buy them at these prices, wasting their families’ possessions.
In an interview with ABP on Saturday, May 11, Governor Manirambona said that since the shortage of Brarudi products, some bar and restaurant managers have arrogated to themselves the right to raise the prices of these products exorbitantly. He gave the example of a bar that was caught selling a bottle of Amstel at 10,000 BIF, a bottle of Amstel Bock at 7,000 BIF and a bottle of Brarudi at 5,000 BIF.
Mr. Manirambona revealed that there are traders who have already suffered severe penalties following the non-application of regulatory prices in Gitega province. He urged bar owners to think of others, stressing that higher beer prices were a major factor in the mismanagement of the household economy. He did not forget to mention that there are consumers who also contribute to the rise in prices by saying that they can buy this or that other drink at any price. According to him, buying a bottle of Amstel at 10,000 or 20,000 BIF is unreasonable.
The governor of Gitega province therefore called on consumers of these products to collaborate with the administration and the police by denouncing all traders who sell these products at exorbitant prices in order to discourage this bad habit forever. He pointed out that the administration and the police are ready to intervene at any time, even during the night, to punish traders caught speculating on the prices of Brarudi products.
Governor Manirambona advises consumers of these products to consume them responsibly in order to achieve development for their families and the country because, he explained, there are those who order more than 6 bottles of Amstels when these products are not consumed to get drunk but normally to be comfortable.
“If we consume too much, we gradually wear ourselves out, whereas the country needs people in good shape to work”, he said, adding that if we continue like this, it will be very difficult to achieve sustainable development, despite Burundi’s ambition to be an emerging country by 2040 and a developed country by 2060.