At 18 years, you could be old enough to vote but too young to drink

Are you an adult aged 21 or less? The Kenya Government has a message for you: in less than two months, all doors to pubs and other alcohol selling premises could be locked to people your age.

In simpler terms, a proposed policy on the sale of alcohol considers you too young to drink.

This may sound far-fetched to young revellers, but it may become a harsh reality once the minister for Provincial Administration and Internal Security, Prof George Saitoti, approves the official adoption of the National Alcohol Policy.

When that happens, with the simple stroke of a pen, nearly two million youth aged between 18 and 21 will be officially banned from bars and alcohol selling points.

The move is bound to cause a great rift between the government and brewers who, by all indications, are gearing up for the battle to retain this extremely profitable constituency.

Details of the policy are still being hammered out. For example, officials are trying to decide whether the policy should be adopted by the Cabinet, or simply sanctioned by Prof Saitoti. 

“But it is largely a ministerial issue. What I know for sure is that it will be operational before the end of this financial year,” says the ministry’s Permanent Secretary Francis Kimemia.

The National Alcohol Policy is the brainchild of the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (Nacada). The decision to draft the policy started in 2007 and the final draft was taken to the minister in May 2008.

The policy states that the minimum legal age for handling, purchasing, consumption and selling of alcohol shall be 21 years.

Further, it expressly outlaws the sale or consumption of alcohol on any national election day, until the polls are closed. According to a survey by Consumer Insight, a research institution, about 15 per cent of Kenya’s total population is comprised of youth aged between 18 and 21.
Because the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics estimates the total population to be 38 million, the proposed law would affect about 5.7 million people in that age bracket.

The survey also suggests that 34 per cent of those youth consume alcohol. That amounts to nearly 2 million people.

Negative drinking patterns

Officials say the policy is informed by a simple yet powerful reality: Although alcohol consumption is legal, its access and availability, which has increased over time, has a direct negative impact to socio-economic life of Kenyans.

This is most notable in terms of the proliferation of alcohol sales in residential areas, the purchase of alcohol by minors, the non-adherence to laws about when alcohol is sold, and a significant increase in road accidents and deaths due to drunken driving.

Officials say there is also an increase of negative drinking patterns like binge drinking among the youth.

Currently, any youth who has attained the age of 18 and has acquired a national identity card is considered an adult and can choose to drink whatever he or she wants to indulge in.

Industry players say they acknowledge these socio-economic factors. But they also argue that the proposed law goes against the goals set out in the country’s Vision 2030 development agenda.

“Nacada’s goals should not interfere with business. They should establish other ways of achieving their objectives,” says Sam Ikwaye, the executive officer of Pubs Entertainment and Restaurants Association of Kenya (Perak) which has about 70 members, the majority based in Nairobi and Mombasa.

Mr Ikwaye said the new law would amount to a non-tariff barrier to trade and would also hinder job creation in the country.

When contacted, Nacada national coordinator Jennifer Kimani declined to comment on the government policy. In fact, she said she was unaware that a Bill seeking to regulate alcohol consumption would be brought to Parliament, and refused to comment even after Saturday Nation explained the status of the legislation.

Even more telling, officials with the country’s second largest brewer – Keroche Industries – said they had not been consulted for input into the policy. The company’s managing director, Mrs Tabitha Karanja, however, supports any legislation that is for the betterment of the industry and the country.

“We (brewers) do not want to look as though we are introducing problems to the society. My take on drinking has always been that it has to be a matter of affordability and choice.”

Mrs Karanja says the industry should embrace legislation that maintains sanity in society, but called for wider consultations from government whenever such a policy is being formulated.

Players in the alcohol industry have already warned that some proposals in the policy are likely to prove a hard sell for the government.

“We have raised a number of issues with the Internal Security ministry in various discussions to shape up the policy, and we have been clear that there have not been sufficient consultations. Unfortunately, our views have not been taken into consideration,” says the National Alcohol Beverages Association of Kenya (Nabak) chairman Gerald Masila.

Regarding underage drinking, Mr Masila, who is also the managing director or Kenya Wines Limited, insists that Nabak has already taken care of it through the “We ID”, campaign which requires bar operators to ask their patrons to produce national identity cards as proof of age.

Makes no sense

“In so doing, we ensure that young people below the legal drinking age of 18 keep off the bottle,” says Mr Masila.

Mr Ikwaye says that the proposed change of drinking age to 21 is unrealistic, considering that youngsters comprise the majority of party goers.

“They, too, have the money to spend. Since one is considered an adult in Kenya at 18 years and can marry and even vote for leaders to make and pass the very laws that restrict the drinking age, it therefore makes no sense not to allow them (youth) to drink,” he says.

Mr Ikwaye, who also represents the restaurant division, pubs within hotels and other catering facilities, criticises the policy for prohibiting persons under the age of 21 from entering establishments that sell alcoholic drinks.

“This will greatly affect members as families who come to visit restaurants and other entertainment venues while on holiday and this may have negative effects on business,” he adds.

“If 16-year-olds could be issued with driving licences, what kind of policies are we coming up with? An 18-year-old is an adult who should be able to vote besides choosing what to drink. We cannot have two legal ages.”

In fact, the issue of voting also comes into play with the proposed legislation. It also seeks to outlaw the sale of alcohol on national election days, at least until after the polls close.

However, the Keroche MD wonders what the government seeks to accomplish with this directive, and called it a “desperate move.”

“If it is to discourage people from drinking so as to participate in polling, then there is a much bigger problem that must be addressed. Alcohol seems to preoccupy people’s lives,” she says.
Mr Masila, too, wondered how that rule would be implemented, since people can find ways to stockpile liquor before election day.

“Maybe this will call for closure of bars on the material day. But people could still have alcohol in their houses which they cannot be restricted from drinking,” he argues.

Other observers point to other aspects of the proposed law that could present significant challenges.

According to the draft Policy bars and other retail alcohol outlets cannot operate within the same building as residential premises. This directive would result in the closing of hundreds of bars in estates throughout the country. That’s because most are located in flats that are also residential houses.

There are nearly 20,000 bars across the country. Many are concentrated in high population areas for obvious business reasons. A large percentage is in Nairobi and the Coastal region.

Similarly, all alcohol retail outlets would have to adhere to the operating hours stipulated by the law.

It would also outlaw the operation of nightclubs within or near residential areas or near learning institution of all levels including primary, secondary schools, colleges and universities.

Mr Ikwaye says the proposal will not solve much since those interested in drinking can reach for the drink however far away the pubs are allocated.

“Sensitisation against underage drinking should be incorporated in early childhood education,” Mrs Karanja of Nacada advises.

Mr Masila hails the proposal that NHIF should contribute to the rehabilitation of those addicted to alcohol, however, warning that legislation is an exaggeration because the problem is not that catastrophic.

However, Perak, feels that alcohol producers should foot such bills. “This will make them standardise their products and be more responsible in advertising and distributions,” says Mr Ikwaye.