The new Country Manager of Nile Breweries Limited, Adu Rando has said that the New Alcohol Bill 2022 being pushed by some Members of Parliament is a waste of time and unnecessary.
During an interview with Watchdog Uganda last week, Mr Rando said Uganda is suffering from the emergence of a number of illicit alcohol which is very dangerous to the lives of people, however Parliament has not done anything but is focusing on oppressing alcohol traders who have legitimatized their businesses and are paying taxes.
He added that Uganda has enough laws already that can guide people who consume alcohol.
“In promoting safety drinking, we already have laws in Uganda where only adults can buy and consume products, so it’s strange and seems to be an unnecessary measure and waste of Parliament’s effort yet there is a bigger actual problem on the market of illicit alcohol.”
“We need to keep safe our consumers from consuming products perhaps which can be risky to their lives. However, we have trust that this bill is not going to pass. However, I want to be clear that NBL and ABin Bev are low-abiding companies and if it’s passed we shall abide by it and we shall tell our customers to do so but honestly we trust that this is not going to pass.”
Mr Rando’s voice gives weight to statements of the Chairperson of Uganda Alcohol Industry Association (UAIA), Francis Onapito Ekomoloit who last week told the drafter of the bill, Hon. Sarah Opendi (Tororo District Woman MP) that the bill would only be relevant if it targeted the 65 per cent of illicit and unlicensed alcohol in the market.
He proposed that the title of the bill should be changed to ‘Illicit Alcoholic Control Bill’ Because 65 per cent of the alcohol consumed in Uganda is illicit and unlicensed.
“Bill should exclude the 35 per cent of alcohol that is controlled and licensed. You cannot bring a bill to control what is already controlled because my group [UAIA] is dealing with controlled alcohol. We are fully having production licenses by law and that is a requirement by Uganda Revenue Authority,” he said.
The bill was introduced by Sarah Opendi in 2022 seeking to regulate the manufacture, importation, sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks and also provide for the licensing of persons trading in alcoholic drinks and premises.
It also seeks to prohibit the sale of alcohol to specified persons and regulate the promotion and advertisement of alcoholic drinks. Whereas clause 12 of the proposed bill seeks to regulate the time of sale of alcohol from noon to 6.00 am.
However, Onapita who also acts as the Director for Legal and Corporate Affairs at Nile Breweries Limited alluded that the bill as it is, is an attack on peoples’ freedom to socialize, an attack on farmers and the treasury.
“Anything in the bill which reduces our ability to sell is an attack on the treasury; it is an attack on jobs. This alcohol industry contributes about a trillion shillings to the economy……alcohol should be made freely available for all adults. There is no evidence that the person who drinks in the morning is necessarily abusing alcohol,” he said.
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