- On Wednesday, Interior CS Kithure Kindiki said the government would review all licenses issued to alcohol manufacturers.
- He also instructed them to ensure they document everyone involved in the distribution chain to help nab those breaching the law.
Image: ALICE WAITHERA
Bbar owners in Murang'a have supported Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki’s decision to reform the alcohol sector.
Their association chairperson Simon Njoroge said for a long time, bar owners have borne the brunt of the fight against illicit brew despite there being no connection between them and the manufacture of illicit liqour.
Njoroge hailed Kindiki's decision to re-license manufacturers saying the challenges facing the sector can only be eradicated if the government streamlines the operations of manufacturers and distributors of alcoholic drinks.
On Wednesday, Kindiki said the government would review all licenses issued to alcohol manufacturers.
Kindiki also said manufacturers will be required to ensure all their alcoholic products include traceability information, including manufacturer details, location and content.
He also instructed them to ensure they document everyone involved in the distribution chain to help nab those breaching the law.
But the bar owners said both national and county governments have been closing bars accused of selling alcoholic brands that are not up to standard yet the traders have no way of establishing the brands that have been banned.
“It is not the bars that produce them, it is the manufacturers. Even if you close 200 bars, the bad drinks will be sold if their manufacturers are not dealt with.
"Vetting manufacturers is the right move. Let them establish what they produce and if what they present to the government chemists for testing is what is in the market,” Njoroge said.
He said this will make it easy for the State to crackdown on those selling substandard alcohol.
Njoroge, however, urged the CS to include bar owners while meeting manufacturers saying they are key stakeholders in the sector and have valuable information that could help win the war against alcoholism and sale of illicit drinks.
The chairperson said bar owners who have associations will continue partnering with security teams and the government to help clean up the sector in a way that will not affect businesses.
"We have asked our members not to buy alcohol from any distributor who uses unbranded vehicles," he said.
Njoroge said their association has been undertaking sensitisation drives to inform members on the reforms being undertaken by the government and ensure they conform.
James Waweru, a bar owner, asked the government to release a list of permitted alcoholic drinks to make it easier for traders to shun substandard drinks.
The measures the government is taking, he said, are long overdue and should have been taken years ago.
He said they should now be fully implemented.
Waweru, however, urged the government to ensure reforms are implemented fairly without discriminating against some traders.
"The issue of proximity of bars to schools and churches is a tricky one because in areas such as Murang’a, shopping centres have schools and churches situated in the same block. Bars open at 5pm anyway and don’t disrupt learning activities,” he said.