The number of business establishments fined by the National Inspection of Economic Activities (INAE) for irregularities almost doubled in 2017 in Mozambique, national operations director Ali Mussa revealed yesterday. The INAE fined 1,133 of the 25,000 establishments it inspected in 2017, against 637 of the 20,000 it inspected in 2016, he said. The institution levied fines totalling around 68 million meticais (EUR 919 thousand) in 2017, but only 20 million meticais ( EUR 270 thousand) was collected. “There have been situations where it was necessary to subject the proceedings to tax foreclosures to move to the level of coercive collection,” he added. The food sales sector registered the most infractions, with supermarkets, factories and restaurants among the most frequently fined establishments. Products sold after expiry date or which had deteriorated kept the INAE’s attention on the sale of certain categories of product, and the institution will be especially attentive to establishments selling food in 2018, Aly Mussa said, noting that there are “major problems that constitute an attack on public health ” in the sector. “There needs to be a change of conscience on the part of economic agents,” Mussa concluded, acknowledging that “there is still a lot of work to be done” regarding inspection, which was dependent on capacity and available resources.-LUSA