The Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC) has closed down Nana Boakye Herbal Centre and sanctioned others in an exercise to intensify its regulatory enforcement.
The exercise, led by the Council’s Compliance, Inspection and Enforcement (CIE) Unit, aimed at ensuring that practitioners operate strictly within the scope of the Traditional Medicine Practice Act, 2000 (Act 575).
During the exercise, officers of the Council discovered that Nana Boakye Herbal Centre—whose operational licence had expired eight years earlier—was also employing two unregistered workers, prompting its immediate closure.
Nikki Massage Centre was sanctioned for breaching regulations by operating with a two-year expired licence and employing five foreign massage therapists.
Other facilities, including Oduma Herbal Boutique and Ancient Herbal, were also sanctioned for operating with expired licences and using unregistered workers, respectively.
However, they were allowed to reopen after making immediate payments to regularise the registration of the workers and to renew their licensing fees.
The team also inspected Mallam Abdullah (a raw material dealer), That Day Herbal, and MH Organic Shop, all of which were found to be fully compliant with regulatory requirements.
Speaking after the exercise, the Head of Compliance, Inspection and Enforcement, Mr. Michael Lawson, said the Council’s mandate is to promote, regulate, and educate practitioners of traditional and alternative medicine while protecting public health.
He stressed that the enforcement exercise was intended to ensure adherence to the law and not to punish practitioners unnecessarily.
Mr. Lawson urged operators to keep their facility licences valid and ensure that all staff are properly registered, warning that persistent defaulting would attract sanctions, including closure.
He also appealed to the public to patronise only licensed facilities and to report unregulated practices to the Council, adding that similar enforcement exercises would continue across the country.