On 27 July President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the the ban on the sale, dispensing and distribution of liquor with immediate effect.
The President, however, extended the current nationwide 9pm to 4am curfew by another 30 days as a precautionary measure to control further spread of COVID-19.
Speaking in State House Nairobi, Uhuru ordered the following:
- The dusk to dawn curfew will be extended for another 30 days.
- There shall be no sale of alcoholic drinks in eateries, restaurants across the territory of the Country effective today midnight for 30 days
- All restaurants and bars shall be closing at 7pm as opposed to 8pm as they were previously directed.
- All bars within the territory of Kenya shall be closed until further notice.
- The Inspector-General of Police shall withdraw all licenses of bars operating in breach of the directive and this will be permanent.
- Further, the IG of Police will file a weekly report with the Interior CS on bars who have lost their licenses.
- IG of police shall ensure any Kenyan who flouts COVID-19 rules is dealt with regardless of his social status
- Police officers to strictly enforce protocols on public gatherings especially funerals
- Ministry of Health will develop a protocol to temporarily retain retired ICU staff to support medics fighting Covid-19
- All sporting facilities including stadiums shall be availed by the Ministry of Health for isolation purposes
In addition to catching many Kenyans by surprise, the announcement will have major effect on retailers as liquor contributes a significant amount to sales
The alcohol industry also weighed in, complaining they were given no advance notice about the sudden prohibition and warning that the industry’s workers could suffer.
What the Ban of Alcohol Mean?
The alcohol ban will inevitably results in the retailer having to renegotiate their payment plans with parties such as East African Breweries.
This means that suppliers and retailers are going to sit with short-dated stock.
The stock will ultimately either end up not being able to be sold anymore which means further losses for the retailer or the stock will be discounted for half price by the supplier or become a company expense which ultimately results in loss of profits for the retailer
The stock will ultimately either end up not being able to be sold anymore which means further losses for the retailer or the stock will be discounted for half price by the supplier or become a company expense which ultimately results in loss of profits for the retailer
The bigger problem is if sales come to a complete stop over a longer period, the industry will face more job losses and the closure of smaller businesses.
One can argue that retrenchments, job losses and stores not meeting their budget plan would occur regardless of the alcohol ban, but the full effect of the alcohol ban is yet to be seen.
With nearly 8,000 cases -- everyone agrees: these are tough times in the Nation. That’s something President Uhuru acknowledged in his speech: "I know many of you expected a total lock down but that will not help. The government cannot be at the doorstep of every Kenyan. It is upon each and every one of us to preserve the lives of our loved ones," Kenyatta said.
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