MINFI held an information and sensitisation meeting with stakeholders in Yaounde yesterday. Local manufacturers and importers of consumables in Cameroonian markets like cigarettes, alcohol, pharmaceutical products and others will from July 1, 2011 have a harmonised way of certifying their products and the operation is expected to knock out economic destroyers like counterfeit and contraband goods which have adverse effects on economic development. A special licence is in view and will be affixed on each of these goods by manufacturers or importers before they are sold in the country’s markets.  From July 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011, these goods already on the field will be censored and certified and from January 1, 2012, defaulting ones will be ejected from the market and destroyed according to law.

The procedure is thanks to a joint effort began last year by the Ministries of Finance and that of Trade, bringing out the consumables that have to be certified. It is in support of a March 18, 2010 Prime Ministerial Decree outlining the modalities for the certification of the goods. According to the Primer Ministerial order, all local manufacturers or importers have to forward to the administration, at least three months before the end of the year, their demand for the licence (stamps), mentioning the name of the supplier and origin of the product imported. Based on the May 19, 2010 MINFI/MINCOMMERCE move, consumables like tobacco, cigarettes, alcoholic drinks, fruit and vegetable juice, mineral water, pharmaceutical products and food complements will have to be stamped before they are sold in any market in the country.

Speaking during an information and sensitisation meeting yesterday February 22, 2011 at the Conference Hall of the general secretariat of the Ministry of Finance, Finance Minister, Essimi Menye, said the move seeks to help government have a clearer idea on what is being produced and imported into the country’s market, ease revenue collection by customs officials as well as put at the disposal of consumers quality goods that respect national and international norms. “The stamps that will be put on the products will guarantee quality and security of consumers”, he said. Participants at yesterday’s meeting, all actors in the concerned products, saluted the government’s move which they said would not only reduce the rate of counterfeiting and contraband goods, help government in matters of statistics and revenue collection but may also stabilise and engender growth in some of the enterprise that either stagnate or crumble in the face of the malpractices.