Ugandan alcohol producers have voiced their opposition to the proposed Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill, calling it “diversionary” and “regressive.”
On Wednesday, February 1, 2023, at Parliament, stakeholders and the bill’s author, Hon. Sarah Opendi (NRM, Tororo District Woman MP) met once more.
Francis Onapito Ekomoloit, the chair of the Uganda Alcohol Industry Association (UAIA), claimed that the measure would only be helpful if it targeted the market’s 65% of illegal and unlicensed alcohol. He suggested changing the bill’s name to the “Illicit Alcoholic Control Bill.”
“This is the case since illicit and unlicensed alcohol makes up about 65% of the alcohol drunk in Uganda. The bill that is required, according to Ekomoloit, should not include the 35% of alcohol that is regulated and licensed.
“Since my organization [UAIA] deals with restricted alcohol, you cannot introduce a bill to regulate what is already regulated. According to the legislation, we are required by the Uganda Revenue Authority to have manufacturing licenses, he stated.
UAIA, which has been around for more than 20 years, brings together producers and sellers of alcoholic beverages in Uganda.
Ekomoloit, Nile Breweries Limited’s Director for Legal and Corporate Affairs, claimed that the bill’s current form is an assault on people’s right to social interaction and an attack on farmers and the government’s coffers.
“Any provision in the bill that hinders our capacity to sell is an attack on the Treasury and a threat to employment. The alcohol business provides roughly a trillion shillings to the economy, and all adults should have access to alcohol without restriction, “added he.
The idea of limiting drinking hours is opposed by Ekomoloit as well, who claims that “there is no evidence that the individual who drinks in the morning is inevitably abusing alcohol.”
The measure is detrimental to the national economy, according to Juliana Kaggwa, director of corporate relations at Uganda Breweries Limited and vice chair of UAIA. “The alcoholic beverage business contributes 4.9% of the GDP or more than one trillion shillings in tax. The entire value chain begins with farmers and has people working for us, according to Kaggwa.
The private member’s bill’s mover, Hon. Opendi said that her involvement with the local community inspired the legislation.
While we visited Karamoja, there was always a call from the leaders to control alcohol in their villages. “Even when I was a minister, people in Karamoja became a target of those producing illicit alcohol,” she remarked.
The proposed legislation aims to regulate the production, importation, sale, and use of alcohol and forbids the sale of alcohol to specific groups of people, including law enforcement officials and those under the legal drinking age. Additionally, it plans to control the hours of alcohol sales and forbid selling alcohol in passenger service cars.
