State must act now to avert future illicit brew tragedies

The unending saga of finger-pointing as methanol continues to find its way into the wrong hands with dire consequences has finally dragged in State regulatory and approval bodies.

State agencies have been accused of colluding with crooks or failing to stop illegal supply of industrial methanol disguised as ethanol.

Reports that the Government chemist had okayed samples taken to them for testing in one case are an indictment of an agency that does not take its responsibilities seriously enough.

It is suspected that the consignment that finds its way into the market is different from the one from which samples are taken for testing.

Again, the recklessness with which most people take to imbibing potentially fatal alcohol is symptomatic of desperation among people who seem to have lost hope in life. It is a manifestation of what idleness, rampant joblessness and despair can do to society.

It is sad that even teachers, public administrators, doctors and college students have lately been sucked into the death trap of illicit brews.

If, as reports indicate, Nacada had advance knowledge of possible poisoning but failed to act, that negligence exposes its existence and viability to serious questions.

Besides reports of officials embroiled in power tussles, State agencies that should control alcohol consumption have degenerated into a wasteful drain on the country's economy. Nacada now claims that cartels, county officials and the police are frustrating the agency's efforts, in what clearly amounts to passing the buck. This will not address the problem of illicit liquor in the country.

It is also important that the Ministry of Interior Coordination, under which the National Police Service falls, moves fast to ensure existing laws are enforced and those who break the law are brought to justice. The Cabinet Secretary cannot keep threatening that heads will roll even as more and more cases are reported.

He is the boss and his juniors can only be as good as he is. The issue of cartels in the corridors of power is not a new one. The existence of cartels within the ranks of government and its agencies accounts for lethargy and is the reason government departments and institutions are dysfunctional.

The President once publicly acknowledged that his office had been infiltrated yet did nothing about it. What perplexes many is why a government that claims to have its finger on the pulse of the nation, with all the machinery at its disposal, cannot control illicit brews.

Crisis meetings after the deed do not help and have failed to provide solutions in the past, lending credence to the rather fatalistic suspicion that public officials who sit in these crisis meetings more often than not have their eyes on sitting allowances.

The punishment culprits should be severe enough to deter all those who would not think twice before endangering public lives with poison in their warped quest for profits.

A review of the jail terms and court fines for crimes related to distribution of these deadly concoctions is the way to go. The State must ensure that before the recent deaths fade into history, resolute steps are taken to avert ugly incidents in future.