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{
    "id": 106642,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/106642/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 287,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kiunjuri",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Water and Irrigation",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 175,
        "legal_name": "Festus Mwangi Kiunjuri",
        "slug": "mwangi-kiunjuri"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I stand to support this Bill because most of us have been advantaged to observe closely, the behaviour of our youth in this country. I can tell you that, really, with the route we are taking, if nothing is done, we are going to lose not only one generation, but generations to come. Today, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I try to consider the young men who are below the age of 30, and this is one of the groups that we have completely lost because when you get to the streets or you go back to the villages as early as 6 O’clock, they are drunk! You even wonder when they consumed the alcohol, because the same youth in the previous evening, you get them very drunk at around 8 O’clock in the evening to an extent that they cannot be able to walk! Therefore, you only expect that that gentleman would be in a blackout and must have 22 Wednesday, 7th April, 2010(A) slept. Then, you wonder when they woke up and at 6 O’clock the following morning, they are already drunk. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is not only about drinking alcohol. If you look at other provinces, like Coast Province, the issue of drugs is really alarming. There are those areas which are completely affected, but as an hon. Member for Laikipia and who happens to traverse through the Mt. Kenya region every other day, I can tell you that it is a disaster to us. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if you even look at the population growth in this country which is supposed to be controlled by health means, it is radically changing because young men can no longer be productive. Our daughters are suffering because they have no men to marry. My worry is that when Wahu, my daughter, grows up, where will she ever get a husband if she would have already lost the generation that is supposed to marry her, which is ten years and above? So, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we must take urgent action to make sure that this issue of alcohol is contained. I am not a proponent of banning alcohol drinks in the country because it is an industry in itself and we will be limiting people’s freedom and choice to do whatever they want. But it is high time that we, in this Parliament as lawmakers, decide that enough is enough and we take the bull by the horn. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have read these sections of this Bill about licensing. There is nothing much that we are changing here. For the first time, Kenyans must agree to obey the laws as they are because nothing stops us today from controlling the use of alcohol in the society. We still have the District Licensing Boards controlling the issues of licenses, but what is happening at the district level is a high level of corruption, whereby despite those Committees knowing and having evidence that a certain bar is operating irregularly; that they are operating at hours they are not supposed to operate, they are still licensed. Despite most of them being caught selling illegal and illicit brews, they still continue licensing those bars. The first issue is about discipline. It is not about the law. If you have a Constitution or a law that is very good, but we do not obey it, it is useless. The licensing here is done in the same way as it is done today. We have talked about imported beer and other drinks. We are not talking only about importation from other countries, but importation from one district to the other. A district like Laikipia East has really tried to fight illicit brews. Where are these brews produced and manufactured? As much as we fight these illicit brews, how much can we control the movement? So, we must clearly interrogate this Bill, so that we can come up with provisions which are very strict. For example, in Article 21 on Miscellaneous, we are talking about the Minister being given the discretion in Article 61(d) to prescribe the hours within which the sale of alcohol drinks shall be permitted. This should be very clear. It should not be left to the discretion of the Minister. This power should go down and be delegated to the district committees, so that they can be firm on the hours that one can sell alcoholic drinks. If I were the Minister today, I would declare that no bar should open between 6.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. That is, the time they are supposed to be operating. We should have special consideration to some of the hotels and restaurants in Nairobi and other major cities in this country, so that we do not affect the international business. However, on the issue of local pubs in villages in Nyeri, Kirinyaga and Laikipia, we must be very strict with them. Why should we allow them to operate bars in the afternoon, knowing for sure that is where our youth will flock? Nobody goes to work and they get busy drinking alcohol each and every day. 23 Wednesday, 7th April, 2010(A) On the issue of control of the brand of beer and other brews, we must be very clear. For the first time, we must accept that we must take into consideration, the poor. We cannot only say that we will ban illicit brews and we leave the likes of Mungatana and the rest of us enjoying their Tusker---"
}