Bar owners up in arms over new ‘Mututho Law’

Hotel and Bar owners have rejected the county government’s new Liquor Act.

During a stormy meeting at the Kenya School of Government, representatives of the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers, Bar Owners Association and Pubs, Entertainment and Restaurants Association, said the Act would undermine their business.

Mombasa Bars Owners Association secretary Francis Kibuthu said authorities didn’t involve stakeholders when drafting the laws.

Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers Coast branch Executive Officer Sam Ikwaye said the Act contained 90 per cent of Mututho laws which had adversely affected business.
He said Mututho laws rendered thousands of nightclub and discotheque workers jobless.

“Mombasa is a tourist town. You don’t expect an international tourist to wait until 5pm or 11pm to enjoy his drink,” he said

The KAHC official called on county officials to amend the Act and come up with laws that would boost hotel, nightclub, bar and discotheque businesses.

Jawambe Hotel Director Janet Mirobi accused the county government of double taxation, saying hotel owners were paying for single business permit and liquor licence fee.

She said the county raised the annual single business permit fee from Sh38,000 to Sh67,000 while charging Sh50,000 as liquor licence.

“How will bar owners make money to pay workers, taxes and other bills if they are told to operate for only six hours?” Ms Mirobi asked.

Reacting to the concerns, Tourism Executive Joab Tumbo said they held several meetings in which hoteliers, bar, nightclub and discotheque owners were given a chance to forward their proposals.

He said one of the main challenges the county was grappling with was failure by residents to attend public meetings.

“We involved the public in the formulation of the Act. It is uncalled for for some to term it the Mututho law,” he said.