The Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana has signed a Ministerial Order reducing prices of some soft drinks in Cameroon. The Ministerial Order states that the price reduction is in a bid to reduce the cost of living of Cameroonians, an initiative, it said, of the President.

The Minister’s Order signed Thursday, January 21, only makes price change for soft drinks of the French company les Brasseries du Cameroun SARL. They are as follows;

-The price of the 1.5 litre plastic soft drink moves from 1000frs to 900frs

-1 litre plastic soft drink; from 600frs to 500frs

-35centilitre (cl) plastic soft drink; from 300frs to 250frs

-And the regular bottle soft drink; from 400frs to 350frs

Many people are still wondering how this is going to change standards of living in the country when the change in prices is for a single brewery company.

Given the fact that many Cameroonians are heavy consumers of beer and alcoholic drinks, with some drinking as a means of beating back the hands of frustration, it becomes a myth to even think that this action alone can bring about a corresponding increase in the standard of living of the citizens. Moreover, drinks are not even goods of necessity like garri, water, rice, plantains and bananas that desperately need subsidies of some kind to help bring down prices.