By Dickson Jere
Something not adding up on the so-called ban on Power – a Zambian produced beverage with purported multiple benefits.
Everyone who drives on the streets of Lusaka will attest to the fact that vendors sell this product on traffic lights. And, in their marketing, they state clearly that the drink is power – in that sense you know!
And the drink has been selling on the streets for a while until recently it even found itself on the shelves of reputable supermarkets like Shoprite. A good move for a Zambian product to compete with imported ones – I thought! In short, this drink has been on the Zambian market for a while. We know it!
Boom!
Enter the Uganda story. (About a man who experienced whatever after he drunk power).
And suddenly the Zambian regulators are awaken from slumber. Where were you when this product was being sold on the Zambian market ? Mwenze kuni? (In RBs voice). In other ways, by banning this product based on a story of Uganda is confirmation that these institution are not doing their jobs in Zambia!
Conversely, I had expected them to defend a Zambian product by stating that it was cleared by them here!
Have you ever thought of competitors trying to kill a good product by fake stories? And why announce the ban before your tests? Killing your own son…
These institutions, the Zambia Medicines and Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA), the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) and the Ndola City Council needs self-introspection!
By the way, why are these institutions quiet on a number of Chinese drinks and products on the Zambian markets with instructions in Chinese? Where is ZABS?
Dick has nailed her! On the point, you see drink Power SX..
Do you drink Whiskey or Rum or Vodka when you are blogging?
Well thought full Mr. Jere. By removing the product from the shelves then it shows that the institutions responsible have a case to answer and if the company modified after clearance then they have a case to answer. What we consume should be taken with the seriousness it deserves
This product was contributing to our forex and someone wants to ban it. How crazy can a people e beyound this. People are happy with Chinase products with similar indications and on our market.
Zambians are just dumb! not patriotic at all, they bend over backwards to accommodate foreigners and then turn around kick their own people in the you know…where the sun shine.
Patrotism to them is worshipping Lazy Lungu who is enjoying himself in a foreign hospital for a basic checkup!!
Most zambians re not patrotic including most of our leaders.Thats why they easly get influenced by outside
forces.
“Have you ever thought of competitors trying to kill a good product by fake stories? And why announce the ban before your tests? Killing your own son…” In case it is dangerous it has to be shelved until further notice. It is standard procedure.
“By the way, why are these institutions quiet on a number of Chinese drinks and products on the Zambian markets with instructions in Chinese? Where is ZABS?” Here government is wrong I can say, they need a blanket check.
In Zambia even if you found the cure for HIV or cancer which was affordable…they would ban it you are better off selling the formula to the multi-national Pharma.. giants who they think is their partner.
I am sure some clever chap in East Africa will replicate the formular and start selling it to those countries.
“Have you ever thought of competitors trying to kill a good product by fake stories?…”
By the same vain that story about a 6 hour erection could be a clever marketing ploy , now I know about this drink where I did not….
Let’s not just post lets defend ours .This company employed people who will be jobless soon.people are busy selling Chinese products at our market and we worship them.can a politician sale their products in China? No! They can’t . Why dont we pay attention to our own things ? What disease is this? And foreigners knows we have this disease “anti zambicious” but zoona ati kung fu what’s the meaning of this word ? Beating people? Temungulu uyu ? Power at iyo? AMA guys aba have they understand marketing strategies? If it was a Chinese company they would institute investigation before the ban and their investigation would take five year before responding to the undangan query. But zoona slavery is bad now I know why brothers and sisters were exchange and sold to America for a mirror.Just…
Tatwakwata amano, we are dimwits I tell you….the learned are worst cowards….it had to take some “say” from afar for people to act with no shame for….if it was the other way round Zambian regulators would have been sued……why blow trumpet before you verify things on ground….. We act on impulse in homes and worse in our professional undertakings…. Why are we like this aai…Nathan Nyirenda really summed it all up in his song “mwemakufi yandi mwinenuka” amano, our minds are black, ……elo yalichepa….
Just as that video on the Blue Band spread which should the fat not melting even when heated. Regulators should not have responded so quickly. They should have taken time to issue any statement. But then these guys do nothing other than playing on their phones reading Lusaka Times. The whole thing just took them by surprise.