A lobby has asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to review the Covid-19 restrictions and open up bars, clubs and hotels as a Madaraka Day gift to Kenyan youth.
Angaza Empowerment Network on Tuesday said youth in the country have suffered for a long and are almost giving up hope, something the network’s executive director Derrick Ngumu noted is the most dangerous thing to happen.
Ngumu said parents have been unable to raise school fees and others have been struggling to pay rent and bills and thus life has become unbearable since the advent of Covid-19 in the country.
“We request the President to fully open up bars, clubs and hotels. If these can at least operate to midnight, it will go a long way to improving the country’s economy and young men will earn more,” Ngumu told the Star.
For almost two years now, bar, club and restaurant owners have been operating at a minimal level following restrictions introduced by the government to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
On May 4, bar owners asked the government to extend operating hours to help their businesses recover from Covid-19 pandemic losses.
Bar, Hotels and Liquor Traders Association (BAHLITA) said the continued stay of Covid-19 containment restrictions has ravaged their businesses, forcing bar and restaurants to shut as those still in business shed jobs.
BAHLITA members said the two hours from 5 pm they are allowed to operate is not enough to make meaningful sales.
President Uhuru Kenyatta in his Labour Day address allowed bars to operate until 7 pm instead of 9 pm as was the case before they were closed on March 29.
“While the resumption of operations by bars is welcome, we would like to ask the President to consider increasing the hours of operation,” BAHLITA secretary-general Boniface Gachoka said.
President Uhuru is set to address the nation on Madaraka Day on Tuesday.
Bar owners say they earn 14 per cent of what they used to earn before the pandemic, making it difficult for them to stay afloat and pay their bills.
