Bar owners in Murang’a County have urged the government to provide retailers with a list of licensed brews they can stock in their premises.
This in a bid to support the state in its relentless fight against killer brews
The entrepreneurs who held a meeting at a Murang’a hotel said they fully support the continuing efforts by the government in the war against illicit brews, noting that one of the ways the government can make strides in eradicating the illicit brews is by providing them with a list of all alcoholic brands that have been tested and deemed safe for consumption in Kenya.
The patron of the bar owners’ association in the county, James Waweru, said that they welcomed the move by the government to suspend the licenses of all manufacturers of second and third-generation alcoholic brews saying it was a step in the right direction.
Waweru, however, said that as bar owners they want the government to go a step further and license the various products independently, then share publically the list of all licensed brands.
“We would like all the products sold in Kenya to be tested and licensed afresh one by one irrespective of who the manufacturer is,” he said,
“All manufacturers should therefore declare all their individual products and have them tested again so that after the government licenses the different products, they can make public the list of all the approved brands for the retailers to access,” he added.
Waweru further called for random testing of the products available on the shelves as a way of ensuring their quality has not been tampered with over time.
The patron cautioned against making of populist decisions in the fight against the illicit brews and asked that retailers and other stakeholders be involved in the concerted efforts against any lethal alcohol.
“Closing the bars may only gratify the public temporarily, but it will not solve the alcohol menace if the fight does not start from the manufacturing and the distribution process,” he stated.
Waweru further called for the government to urgently recall all brands that have been suspected of being counterfeited from the market in order to prevent more deaths.
On his part, the chairman of the Murang’a bars owners’ association, Simon Njoroge underscored that alcohol retailers are in support of the government efforts to curb killer brews and they are willing to work hand in hand with the county security teams.
“We support the government efforts and we want to join hands with the security team in the fight against killer alcohol,” Njoroge said.
“However, as bar owners we neither manufacture nor distribute alcohol and it’s therefore the sole government’s responsibility to ensure that the product reaching us, remains safe for consumption,” he added.
He argued that all distributors should also be licensed afresh irrespective of their societal status and their premises and vehicles clearly branded.
“All alcohol distributors should reapply for licenses irrespective of how big they are or how long they have been in operation,” he said.
Njoroge noted that on their part, bar owners’ associations have been sensitizing their members on acquiring their liquor from well-known distributors while cautioning members against buying alcohol from unbranded vehicles or distributors.
“We have asked our members not to buy alcohol from unbranded vehicles or distributors as a way of ensuring they are not supplied with counterfeit alcohol,” Njoroge said.
The chairman said the government should fully involve the retailers in the fight against substandard alcohol in policy making and at the various levels of dealing with the killer brews, as they as the sellers are the link between the alcohol manufacturers and the consumers.
“We are the retailers, after you are done with manufacturers, sit with us as well so that we can be able play our part in ending the illicit brews menace,” he stated.
By Purity Mugo
