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{
    "id": 530737,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/530737/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 24,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Njuki",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1372,
        "legal_name": "Onesmus Muthomi Njuki",
        "slug": "onesmus-muthomi-njuki"
    },
    "content": "bottle cannot be differentiated. It would pass for the right drink. This is what this Motion is trying to control. The number of bottles that find their way into our houses is big. There are some homes today that have a room that is set aside for storing empty beer and alcoholic drinks bottles. These bottles can be repackaged and definitely most of the imported drink bottles do not find their way back to where they came from. Therefore, if there has been repackaging, it happens and it takes place right here. Since those people do not have any repackaging industries here or factories, you can tell what is normally repackaged there. It is possible for you to buy a Jameson bottle from a back street at a price that is ten times lower than the normal price. That tells you that, that is not the real drink. What is normally found in those drinks most of the time is what is causing all these chaos that you are seeing in the country today; some parts of this country have had their populations destroyed because of consuming alcohol that is not properly brewed. This is alcohol that has got preservatives and chemicals that make it very concentrated and cheaper. There are some people in this country who drink not to get the pleasure of drinking but to forget their problems. So, the more concentrated the drink and the cheaper it is, the better for the consumers. That is what is causing this big problem. What can be done about this? Almost half of those branded alcoholic drinks are counterfeits that are brewed in the black market in Kariobangi and those other places. If we can be responsible as marketers of this beer to be able to control these containers and bottles in the same way that we are controlling the drinks, we will be able to make sure that we fight the counterfeits thereby getting value for money and at the same time ensure that wrong drinks do not infiltrate the market and cause problems to our population. This is where our National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) comes in. It is collecting a lot of money from licences and control of the sales of alcohol out there in the counties and sub-counties. Part of this money should be set aside to ensure that a policy is put in place so that empty bottles and cans are collected and taken back to the manufacturer, or those that cannot be recycled are destroyed because they are not doing any good to our population. Those who are selling drinks to persons under 18 years--- I like the advertisement that I saw in the media the other day that says in Kiswahili: “Under 18 sio mteja. Nimtoto wako.” There seems to be laxity in implementing the law against selling alcohol to persons under the age of 18, when we have alcohol being sold outside drinking premises that are licensed. That is where the problem is. Therefore, empowering these people with information is more useful than trying to control the sale. That is why NACADA should set aside money for youth empowerment. This is to ensure that we build capacity for our youth. We engage them in recreational facilities like sports during the holidays. It is not only school going children who are engaged in this act of taking alcohol irresponsibly. We also have youth who are not in school but who should not be taking it at the level that they do. All those can be put together and NACADA can empower them, so that we are able to control this menace. This illicit brew has destroyed families, careers and even populations. It has retarded the birth rate in some places in this country where men are not able to procreate because of excessive and irresponsible alcohol consumption. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}