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The Bar Hotels Liquor Traders Association of Kenya (BAHLITA) is now asking the government to go slow on planned closure of bars in Mount Kenya and other parts of the country citing huge economic impact.
According to BAHLITA the shutdown will see more than 560,000 directly employed individuals losing their jobs.
BAHLITA Chairman Simon Njoroge challenged the government to heighten surveillance and enforcement mechanisms across Mt Kenya and parts of the country to tame the alcoholism menace rather than the closure.
“It is our considered view that the problem of illicit and counterfeit alcoholic drinks has largely been caused by the availability of cheap alcohol manufactured by dealers of fake products,” Njoroge said.
The association says that alongside the 560,000 who are at risk of losing their jobs, the move will also cut off 1,167 distributors and 35,000 farmers.
This has further been compounded by the laxity of security officers to heighten surveillance and enforcement mechanisms during the electioneering and transition period, especially during the 2022 General Elections.
He noted that unscrupulous traders had been taking advantage of the lapse by the relevant government agencies tasked with enforcement to conduct the thriving illegal business.
The lobby further noted that the continued tax hike on alcoholic drinks by the government has compounded the increase in production, sales and consumption of illicit brews in Kenya.
“A case in point is the proposed increase in the price of excise stamps through the Excise Duty (Excisable Goods Management System) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023. If the amendments are approved as is, this will lead to an increase in the prices of beer and spirits with the common mwananchi bearing the brunt,” added Njoroge
It does not help matters that the rise comes just a few months after the implementation of the 6.3 percent adjustment for inflation that came into effect last October followed by a 10% increase in excise implemented in July 2022 following the 2022/2023 annual national budget,” he noted.
