By Allen P. Lablah lallenpaye@yahoo.com
Sanniquellie, Liberia – The Commerce and Industry Ministry has destroyed an assortment of expired consumer goods and medical drugs valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars in Sanniquellie City, the provincial capital of Nimba County in northeastern Liberia.
The expired goods were sets ablaze in the presence of the public by Commerce Ministry’s local office in Nimba after they were seized from business operators in area.
The expired goods include none food items such as Sterile Overwrap, Multivitamin tablets, Folic acid, Vitamin B-complex injection. Other expired good destroyed were table salt, biscuits, Club beer, Cough Candy amongst others.
Fifteen bottles of expired club beers were taken from the Porch Entertainment Center, thirty (30) bags of expired table salts were discovered in the Sanniquellie General Market, while Jungle Water 3 Group Star top the expired goods list.
Expired medical drugs including diclofenae sodium injection, folic acid, multivitamin tablets, vitamin B-Complex injection and many others were seized from Medicine Stores in Sanniquellie by the Commerce Authority.
The expired commodities were confiscated from traders who were illegally selling them in the past four months in the wake of a vigorous inspection by the Sanniquellie Commerce Office.
The head of the Sanniquellie Commerce Inspectorate Team, Aloysius Lincoln, says the exercise was meant to save the lives of the Liberian people.
Mr. Lincoln put the value of the expired goods at some LD$375,000.00.
He says plans are underway by the commerce Ministry to conduct a massive inspection of business entities in Sanniquellie City.
He told the local Radio Sehnwai community that the ministry is committed and prepared to eradicate expired goods from the Liberian market.
Mr. Lincoln however wants citizens of Sanniquellie to cooperate with the inspection team as they work hard to rid the Sanniquellie market of expired goods.
The burning operation, which was witnessed by the Liberia National Police, Environment Protection Agency, Sanniquellie City Cooperation, was done recently at the Gboi Gehwee Highway, Sanniquellie-Mah District.