The mayor of Ouagadougou is fighting against the consumption of shisha in public places. In early April, City Hall took a measure banning the consumption of shisha in public places in the city, whether it was closed or not. The security forces conducted an operation to monitor compliance with this measure on Saturday 24 April.
as reported from Ouagadougou, Yaya Boudani
This first unannounced control operation concerned about twenty bars, restaurants or nightclubs in several districts of the capital.
At “chicha House”, a bar reserved for smokers, all hookah consumables were seized. Charles Sawadogo, the manager, is already considering the impact of this measure on his turnover: “It will have a negative impact on our market. It was because there was shisha that others came to smoke. Otherwise, when there is no more shisha, it will fall on the market ”.
Hundreds of hookah pipes seized
Dozens of internal security forces, police and gendarmerie were mobilized for the operation. Hundreds of shisha pipes were seized. The managers of the bars were informed about the measure to ban the consumption of shisha.
Adama Pamtaba, PR Manager at Ouagadougou Municipal Police “The harvest was very successful. We were able to recover from 200 to 300 units used for shisha consumption. The repeated violation can lead to the license being closed or revoked. We have recently noticed that the consumption of shisha has become very obvious in the city of Ouagadougou, especially considering the very young population ”.
According to the municipal police, these operations will continue and they will affect all parts of the city.
► Read also: Burkina Faso: the success of shisha among young people worries health professionals
.
