Three Cape Coast herbal shops shut over expired licences
The regulator says some facilities had failed to renew their licences for three to four years. Operators must renew them and pass follow-up checks before reopening.
The Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC) has shut down three herbal medicine shops in Cape Coast for operating with expired licences, as part of a nationwide enforcement exercise.
The affected businesses are Pennah Herbal Shop, Dank Natural Healthcare and God is Able Herbal Centre. The Council says they must regularise their licences before resuming operations.
Nicholas Annan, the TMPC’s Compliance, Enforcement and Inspection Officer, said some facilities inspected had been operating with licences that expired three to four years ago.
“We have identified facilities whose licences expired three and four years ago. Although they were previously licensed, they have failed to renew their licences, and we have therefore closed them down,” he told the media during the inspections.
Mr Annan said the affected operators had been directed to report to the Council’s office to renew their licences. Officers would carry out follow-up inspections to check compliance before the facilities reopened.
He said the exercise was aimed at protecting consumers and maintaining standards in traditional medicine practice.
“The basic thing we are looking at is public health and safety. We want to ensure that everybody in the traditional medicine sector is properly regulated, their licences are up to date, and they are doing the right thing,” he said.
The closures were attributed to licensing breaches. Mr Annan said the inspections were not a one-off operation and that officers had been deployed to conduct regular checks. Similar enforcement activities were taking place in other regions, he added.