Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Monday pleaded with Governors to support the National Government’s bid to transfer the mandate of licensing bars and liquor businesses from county governments to the State anti-drug agency.
Speaking during the 23rd Ordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC) meeting at the Official Residence in Karen, Gachagua asked the county bosses to back the ongoing reforms in the coffee sub-sector, stating that some counties were undermining the process by issuing multiple trading licences to millers and marketers.
“We must stick to the interventions that we agreed on to ensure success in the reforms in the coffee sub-sector. Some counties like Kiambu and Uasin Gishu have gone contrary to what we agreed, including issuing multiple licenses to actors in the value chain.
“We agreed that millers cannot be marketers; but some have been issued with the multiple licenses to mill and market coffee. Let us work together to ensure the reforms succeed,” he stated.
In the fight against illicit brews and drug abuse, the Deputy President said the National Government intends to amend the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act to tighten control of manufacturing, distribution, sale, and consumption of liquor drinks following the proliferation of killer drinks.
He explained that concern to the government is the second-generation alcoholic drinks, which have not only resulted in the deaths of people besides other grave socio-economic effects.
In February this year, at least 17 people in Kangai Village, Kirinyaga County, died after consuming illicit brew.
Gachagua highlighted the trade, consumption, and abuse of illicit alcohol, narcotics drugs and psychotropic substances now ranks as one of the five key national security threats.
“The Government is implementing a number of immediate, short and long term measures to curb this menace. The Government has adopted a national security posture in the management of this concern with a focus on how to sustainably eliminate the counterfeit and sub-standard liquor from the source,” said the Deputy President.
The Deputy President further asked the Governors to set aside funds collected from the licensing of bars and liquor businesses to facilitate the construction of special wards in hospitals to deal with recovering alcohol and drug addicts.
