KAMPALA – Manufacturers of spirits have said they will convert 7.3 million liters of alcohol in their facilities to make available, affordable and quality sanitizers in the wake of the fight against coronavirus.
The manufacturers made the pledge during a meeting with Investment minister Evelyn Anite in Kampala on Monday, March 23, 2020.
“In order to deal with the shortage and the exorbitant increment of hand sanitizers in the wake of the Corona virus outbreak, I held a meeting with Alcohol and spirit manufactures where I assured them of Government of Uganda’s support through VAT and excise duty waivers to enable them maximize production,” the minister said.
During the meeting with the spirit manufacturers, Uganda National Bureau of Standards and National Drug Authority also pledged to fast track the registration of quality hand sanitizers but also assured of increased surveillance across the country to ensure fake sanitizers are not released onto the market.
“I thank the Uganda Manufacturers Association and the spirit manufacturers who agreed to step in and combat the hand sanitizer shortage,” Anite said.
While appearing before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary Dr Diana Atwine warned of fake sanitizers on the market which may be ineffective in the fight against the virus should it come to Uganda. She said the genuine ones must be 60 percent alcoholic and subsequently the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has been directed to weed out the fake ones on the market.
