Minister of Industry and Trade, Salim Bagus, closed Beirut market and Restaurant in Lilongwe for operating without a tourism license, while also failing to comply with health and sanitation requirements.

Currently, the minister has been inspecting various establishments, checking if they are up to par. “We will make sure that we do these kinds of inspections to make sure that everyone is complying with our laws,” Bagus said, while stating that the current fines for non-compliance are light, hence they need to be reviewed upwards.

Meanwhile, the premises shall remain closed for a week up until tourism and hotels board re-opens it after the owner of the shop renovates the infrastructure into a minimum standard and pay a fine of K100, 000. On the other hand, it was discovered that the shop sells Shisha without monitoring, as teenagers also buy the product. Bagus said monitors will be deployed to keep watch of such.