Informal markets at heart of Kenya’s alcohol-related deaths

Most of the alcohol consumed in Kenya is sold through unregulated informal markets and is in the form of spirits, a Nation Newsplex study shows.

And this situation is at the heart of the crisis that led President Uhuru Kenyatta to declare war on illicit alcohol.

Statistics show that although Kenya has one of the lowest per capita consumption rates in Africa, it suffers more from alcohol-related deaths because of the informality of the market.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 58 per cent of all pure alcohol consumed in Kenya was in the informal market.

...countries in Africa that have a higher per capita consumption rate use less alcohol from informal or illicit sources.

Consumption of beer, spirits and wine in Kenya has increased from 2010 to 2014, with 2013 being the only year when an increase was not recorded. In 2010, the WHO found that beer accounted for 56 per cent, wine 2 per cent, spirits 22 per cent and other beverages 20 per cent of Kenyan consumption.

Based on those proportions, approximately 14 million litres of wine and 171 million litres of spirits were consumed in 2014.

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According to Institute of Economic Affairs Chief Executive Kwame Owino, a public health approach should replace the current law-and-order strategy to managing alcohol. He added that government could consider forgoing the tax revenue from alcohol, though he admitted that was unlikely.

KENYA'S COSTLY DRINKS

Although government officials have shown great concern over alcohol consumption, it appears that the amount taken is moderate compared with other countries of similar population and development levels.

Based on 2010 data, Ugandans consumed more than twice the amount of alcohol per capita as Kenyans. While Kenyans consumed 4.3 litres of alcohol per capita that year, South Africans consumed 11 litres, Nigerians 10.1 litres, Rwandese and Ugandans both 9.8 litres, Tanzanians 7 litres, Ghanaians 4.8 litres and Ethiopians 4.2 litres.

Data from the 2014 Global Status of Alcohol and Health Report by the World Health Organization and local statistics analysed by Nation Newsplex and the Institute of Economic Affairs also shows that countries in Africa that have a higher per capita consumption rate use less alcohol from informal or illicit sources.

While countries that reported higher levels of per capita alcohol consumption had lower proportions of pure alcohol sold through informal channels, countries that consume low amounts of alcoholic drinks tended to have higher proportions sold through informal or illicit channels.

In Nigeria, only 9.9 per cent of pure alcohol consumed was from informal sources, while in Uganda it was 15.3 per cent and 26 per cent in South Africa.

One reason for the greater availability of branded alcohol in those countries may be its affordability. In a book published in 2014, The Economics of Alcohol Use, Misuse and Policy in South Africa, Claire Pengelly and Evan Blecher found that both South Africa and Nigeria had more affordable canned beer, gin and whisky than Kenya in 2012 US dollars.

Wine was cheaper in Kenya than in Nigeria, but more expensive than in South Africa.

In Kenya, informal sources accounted for 58 per cent of pure alcohol consumed, while Ghana and Ethiopia had 62 per cent and 83 per cent respectively.

LAWSUITS

The government crackdown on producers of illicit alcoholic drinks is taking place mainly in the former Central Province counties, although it has now been extended across the entire country.

Thousands of litres of alleged illicit alcohol have been destroyed and violent confrontations have led to injuries and the death of at least one person.

Six others are reported to have died from withdrawal complications in Kiambu, where scores have been admitted to hospitals.

Three lawsuits have also been filed by brewers and associations of alcohol producers seeking redress for destroyed property and lost earnings.

Consumption of alcoholic beverages in Kenya, particularly beer, is expected to continue rising. A 2014 KPMG report found that as incomes increase, more people are expected to make a transition from informal brews to branded beer across Africa.

Beer companies are often among the largest listed companies in their respective countries’ stock exchanges. For example, Tanzania Breweries had the largest capitalisation on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange at $1.5 billion, which amounts to 40 per cent, while in Kenya, East African Breweries accounts for 10 per cent of the market capitalisation of the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

The report also notes that Ghana has enjoyed success in brewing cassava-based beer, which has attracted two entrants into the market.

REDUCED TAXES

That success may soon be replicated in Kenya. A recently enactment law reduced excise taxes on millet, sorghum and cassava by 90 per cent, heralding the increased production of low-cost beer made from indigenous ingredients, which is aimed at consumers of cheap spirits.

The new law represents a turnaround from a 2013 law that imposed a 50 per cent remission tax on Senator Keg Beer, which is manufactured from sorghum.

In addition to excessive alcohol consumption, public concerns have been raised about underage drinking.  Drinking by minors interferes with development of the brain and impairs educational achievement.

Data compiled from a variety of sources shows that adults consume 96 per cent of all the alcohol in Kenya, while four per cent is taken by underage people. A survey by Nacada, Ipsoa and the Students’ Campaign Against Drugs showed that 37 per cent of teenagers have consumed alcohol at least once, although it was not clear that tasting alcohol once led to becoming alcoholic afterwards.

In the same survey, 45 per cent of secondary school students said they drank alcohol only on special occasions, five per cent reported that they took alcohol daily, while 3.3 per cent reported that they had a drink once every two weeks.

That survey also found that the greatest opportunities for underage drinking were offered by friends and relatives.