06 Aug 2025

The Ministry of Health, in terms of the Food Control Act, requires food products to undergo health checks and meet safety standards before they can be sold to the public.

Answering a question in Parliament on Tuesday, the Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Mr Tiroeaone Ntsima said for any powered malt sorghum products such as Chibuku and Jabulani powder to be available in the market, it meant they have passed health checks and inspections and have been deemed fit for human consumption.

Minister Ntsima said according to Section 2 of the Liquor Act of 2003, traditional beer has been defined as “beer brewed under license from sorghum meal and mixture sorghum meal and mealie meal by the fermentation of malt sorghum for commercial purposes and any other beer declared by regulations made under Section 42 to be traditional beer.”

The minister said there are five declared traditional beer as per the Traditional Beer Regulations of 201. He said these are Ila brewed from phaletshe and madila, mokuru brewed from mabele, setopoti brewed from magapu, nkumbi brewed from morula and khadi brewed from mogwana/segwere sa mogakangwaga.

Minister Ntsima informed said that his ministry was in the process of reviewing the Liquor Act and its regulations. 

“The review will also consider the inclusion of other traditional and/or related brews, including Chibuku and Jabulani powder, to be listed as declared traditional beer through the traditional beer regulations of 2011,” he said.

The minister was responding to a question from MP for Shashe west, Mr Jeremiah Frenzel who had asked the Minister if the currently sold Chibuku and Jabulani powder have been health proven or tested products and whether they are proven or classified as traditional beers.

Mr Frenzel said if so, when would they be classified as traditional brews so that they can be sold legally to communities. He had also wanted the minister to state when would the government make a waiver on licensing of the products so that they could be sold in homes and localities as per the Trade and Liquor Act. ENDS