What Does a Sensible and Effective Alcohol Regulation Policy do?

Post date: Thu, Jul 30, 2015 |

Category: General |

It has become customary that at least once every year, a large number of Kenyans lose their lives by consuming contaminated alcohol. Predictably, the nation is shocked and the opportunity opens up to reconsider whether the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act 2010 should be amended to enhance penalties on the one hand with barely lawful ransacking of private premises to make arrests and confiscate some drinks. This action makes for good symbolism in fighting illegal production and distribution of alcohol but does not make for sensible alcohol regulation policy.

A sensible and effective alcohol policy for Kenya would take into account the reality of alcohol consumption in the country and decide what factors to regulate through social and economic instruments available to a state in which laws are binding to both the state and citizens.

To start with, this alcohol regulation policy would have to take cognizance of the structure of the market and not make assumptions about the consumption and preferences of consumers of alcohol. For that reason, it is not useful to combine law and order approaches led by the provincial administration, to combat illegal alcohol consumption. In this case, the health objectives should be the principal guide for alcohol regulations and enforcement. Thus if the legislature recognized that government’s intervention in alcohol consumption will be led by the interest in avoiding damage to health and preserving lives, then we would come closer to an effective law and regulatory environment.

The result of this policy choice is to avoid the moral posturing that accompanies discussion on alcohol policy and concede that the alcohol regulation policy is part of the national health policy. What this means is that, religious preachers would be free to maintain the stand that alcohol consumption is sinful, but that view would be subordinate to the idea that forming alcohol policy is correctly a matter of mitigating or avoiding the health consequences of consumption.

With this choice, its clear that the provincial administration and the Ministry of Interior would have to step aside and be replaced by the backing and considered opinion of medical professionals. This may be difficult to admit, given the ascendancy that security arms of the state have had in all policy areas from employment to public works but that choice is imperative.

The Provincial Administration, represented by that Chief and his superiors have been at the forefront of alcohol prohibition laws since independence with undeniably poor results. And to their credit, the provincial administration has not failed here for want of effort but merely because they were placed in charge of a bad policy. Kenyans must have the courage for change instead of doubling up on a bad policy.

Another troubling feature of this “War against Illegal alcohol” consumption in Kenya is also based on the view that the alcohol sold by unlicensed establishments is always harmful compared to that of formal bottlers. From this assumption follows the claim that if the formal market beer and spirits were more affordable, the preferences of most low income drinkers would change to the “safer” products. The Institute of Economic Affairs has just completed a study on the alcohol environment in Kenya and the study shows that this assumption is incorrect. This substitution effect may be true in urban areas but that the preferences in some parts of the country show that this price effect alone is not all that drives consumption choices.

To its credit, the Treasury proposed a clause in the Finance Bill that would levy taxation on alcoholic beverages based on the alcohol content in them as opposed to volume of liquid consumed. This means that every consumer of alcohol would bear a tax burden commensurate with the volume of pure alcohol contained in their drink. This would ensure that products that contain higher alcohol content attract levies consistent with their alcohol content. This is a sound policy choice for the formal market but its effect on the informal drinks market is not clear yet.

Kenyans need a sober conversation around the informal alcohol market that is today comprised of small-scale brewers primarily based in rural areas and whose production serves local markets. It may not be politic but it is evident that the rounding up every small brewer has enormous economic and social costs. It does not make sense to base alcohol policy on this small-scale producer with local reach distributed across every village in Kenya. Kenyans must re-examine whether a stern prohibitionist approach is still necessary. That cost of permanent surveillance by the Provincial Administration could be used instead in establishing a health surveillance and rehabilitation system. Get chiefs and county commissioners out of the business of chasing small-scale brewers.

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