BUJUMBURA, January 16th (ABP) – The shortage of Brarudi drinks has been evident in the neighborhoods of Bujumbura city for several weeks. But some traders are taking advantage of this situation by increasing the prices of these drinks, explained Police Colonel Edouard Mukoko during the interview given to a check by ABP on Monday, January 13, 2025.
According to Police Colonel Mukoko, there are three categories of sellers of Brarudi drinks: model A, B and C. The licenses for these models correspond to the amounts paid to the Ministry of Commerce. Category A licenses pay 50,000 BIF and sell at the normal price. The 2 categories B and C are seeing an increase. The category B license is divided into 3 parts: subcategory B1 which pays 1,000,000 BIF observes an increase of 200 BIF on the normal price, subcategory B2 which pays 2,000,000 BIF observes an increase of 500 BIF, subcategory B3 which pays 3,000,000 BIF observes an increase of 1,000 BIF. The category C license which pays 10,000,000 BIF observes an increase of more than 1,001 BIF.
According to Mukoko, bar managers who do not respect this categorization by increasing prices are sanctioned by the closure of their bars and the payment of fines. He calls on retail sellers of these drinks to respect the prices; otherwise they will be sanctioned, he said.
Speaking about the scarcity of Brarudi drinks, besides the quantities that are not sufficient, Mukoko confides that the other causes are the favoritism that is observed during the dispatching of the quantities that should be distributed. The direct consequences are that certain areas are ignored during the distribution of those drinks while they are on the list of beneficiaries.
“The population must collaborate with the security services, finally to denounce the bars and other people who do not respect the prices known by Brarudi. Our security agents are mobilized for the implementation of this decision”, he said. The lack of fuel is also the reason, according to him. On this, he calls on the ministry in charge of trade to find out an effective solution to the problem.
It is worth noting that the Minister of Trade recently ordered sellers of Brarudi drinks to display prices of drinks according to the published operating license.