The County Government of Uasin Gishu will financially support 300 reformed illicit brewers to start alternative income-generating activities, the Director of the County Alcoholic Drinks Control Board, Koiya Arap Maiyo, has said.
Maiyo said the 300 reformed brewers identified by the county government out of the 1,300 notorious illicit brewers profiled in all six sub-counties last year have already been trained in basic entrepreneurship to enable them to pursue legitimate alternative economic opportunities to earn a living.
During a multi-sectoral planning committee meeting chaired by Uasin Gishu County Commissioner Dr. Edyson Nyale, Maiyo said Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii has already set aside funds to support reformed illicit brewers.
“The county is also in the process of identifying another 300 reformed brewers who will be trained and offered financial support to start honest income-generating activities,” he added.
He also announced that the licensing of alcohol outlets would start at the end of this month (February) once the migration of the new licensing system initiated by the county government to streamline the issuance of licenses for bars and other alcohol-selling premises is completed.
County Commissioner Nyale announced that the county action plan on alcohol and drug control would be launched on Tuesday, February 13, 2024.
“The action plan will be adapted to suit the county in implementing resolutions on how to tackle the brewing, distribution, and consumption of illicit brews and counterfeit alcoholic drinks,” explained Dr. Nyale.
He said the crackdown on illegal and illicit trade of alcohol and other goods in the county would be scaled up to ensure the menace is addressed significantly.
“We are getting partners to work with the multi-sectoral agency team to implement the county action plan on alcohol and drug abuse; trainings and sensitization forums will be carried out involving all stakeholders if the war on alcohol and other drugs is to be won,” he said.
Dr. Nyale further revealed that a pilot outreach programme where members of the communities would be engaged in interactive public barazas would be carried out in Soy and Turbo sub-counties to give the public a forum to give their input on the implementation of the county action plan strategies.
After the launch, the first batch of national government administrative officers will be trained, followed by another 80 enforcement officers from the national police service and the county government.
By Kiptanui Cherono
