Alcohol Companies Reject Law Regulating Drinking Hour
Juliana Kagwa, the Vice Chairperson of Uganda Alcohol Industry association, also the Director of Corporate Relations at Uganda Breweries.
Alcohol manufacturers from different companies under their umbrella, Uganda Alcohol Industry Association stormed the parliament for a meeting with legislators behind the Alcohol Drinks Control Bill 2022 and gave their views.
Last year, Tororo Woman representative, Hon. Sarah Opendi introduced the Alcohol Bill that seeks to address the regulation of the manufacture, importation, sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks because of the high burden of diseases and increased number of domestic violence cases.
Although they could not stop Ugandans from drinking, Opendi suggested that the government could regulate drinking hours, something which alcohol manufacturers disagree with because they believe it is an attack on treasury and jobs.
“We are contributing 4.9% of the GDP, in simple terms we are paying above 1 trillion Ugandan shillings in tax. We are employing people in the entire value chain which starts with the farmers”
“The Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill in its current form is bad for our nation even in the tourism sense. Some of the brands on our market make up a great part of our heritage and we shouldn’t seek to restrict when visitors and locals should enjoy them.” Juliana Kaggwa, the Vice Chairperson of the association, also the Director of Corporate Relations at Uganda Breweries.
“The laws should be made in the reality of our society. They say some European countries have implemented these laws but they do not rely on alcohol as a source of revenue for the government.” Onapito Ekomoloit, the association’s Chairman also Director Legal and Corporate Affairs at Nile Breweries.
Ekomoloit further revealed that limiting Ugandans from consuming alcohol is limiting their ability and freedom to socialize because there hasn’t been any study confirming that alcohol is harmful if consumed before the said time.
The bill will be presented before parliament in March and if it is passed, Ugandans will be restricted to consuming alcohol from 12AM to 6AM.
In 2019, the Ministry of Health came up with the National Alcohol Control Policy with an aim of guiding the stakeholders’ actions to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. The bill wasn’t well considered or implemented.
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