Liquor traders asked to excersise caution ahead of New Year festivities
The bar attendees and the liquor store owner nest have been asked to trade with more responsibility during the New Year celebrations.
This is according to the statement issued by Bar, hotels, and Liquor Traders Association Secretary General, Mr Boniface Gachoka.
He said that those who are selling alcohol should not put the interest of their businesses ahead of customers.
“It is also vital for our liquor traders to put the lives of our customers before the need of making profits, given the scourge of alcohol abuse which has claimed the lives of our beloved ones due to drinking and driving during the festive season. “
Additionally, Mr Gachoka has said that the association will work closely with law enforcement officers to ensure that law and order are observed even as Kenyans celebrate the new year in their style.
“The festive season especially ushering in the new year carries a heavy responsibility for the low enforcement to protect the citizens with joyous mood and also the liquor traders to sell responsibly alcohol which fuels the joyous mood is sold responsibly,” Mr Gachoka said.
Liquor traders have also been asked to be on alert to avoid selling alcohol to the underage, which can be avoided by demanding identification cards from them.
This comes barely a week after Nacada CEO Anthony Amerikwa led an operation in Nairobi clubs targeting the sale of the illegal substance shisha (hookah).
During the operation which received support from the National Police, 25 people were arrested, and more than one hundred shisha bongs were nabbed.
According to Nacada Chief Executive, alcohol and other drugs are largely abused during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
“This thing (shisha) has permeated us so much. It is affecting our children. It is affecting masses in the country and productivity,” Mr Amerikwa said.
Amerikwa admitted that even though the substance is illegal, it is still widely in use in the country.
“The sale was banned, the use was banned but here have apprehended over 100 shisha bongs in a residential area and is causing pollution.”
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