CS Kuria proposes increase in alcohol prices
The National Assembly Committee on Finance has received suggestions from Trade CS Moses Kuria that the minimum retail price for quarter liters of wine and spirits be sold for at least Sh250.
According to the CS, selling alcohol in quantities below Sh250 suggests that the substance is probably illegal.
“I have recommended to the Finance Committee that no 250ml wines or spirits be sold for less than their cost price. The Kenya Revenue Authority will occasionally reveal where that cost price is, he said.
He was speaking on Monday at a multiagency gathering in Tharaka Nithi County’s Kirubia Stadium.
Kuria stated that they came to the conclusion that a 250ml bottle could not be sold for less than Sh250 after calculating the cost of goods for production and charges imposed by government.
Kuria claimed to have requested changes in March to have the minimum retail price of liquor for 250ml sold at Sh300.
The minimum retail price for 250ml wines and spirits should be Shh300, Kuria stated in a tweet on March 28, 2023. “To put an end to the chronic problem of illicit brews that is killing our people, I have forwarded to the National Treasury an amendment through the Finance Bill 2023,” Kuria wrote.
Kuria claimed at the time that the action was taken to make alcohol more accessible to young people, who are the primary consumers of inexpensive alcohol.
Kuria’s proposals come as the government has stepped up its campaign against juvenile drug use and illicit brew consumption, notably in the Mt. Kenya region.
The campaign being waged under the direction of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua aims to put an end to drug usage and the consumption of illegal alcohol.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki stated during the Tharaka Nithi conference that the government will scrutinize every license given to alcoholic beverage producers in the nation.
There are dishonest producers who, despite having a license to make legal alcohol, have set up parallel lines to make dangerous chemicals, he claimed.
The CS further stated that genuine alcohol businesses were not being targeted by the government.
CS Kuria proposes increase in alcohol prices
