Bars and hotel stakeholders have raised concerns over their sidelining in the public participation process as the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill moves from the Senate to the National Assembly.
Under the umbrella of the Bars, Hotels and Liquor Traders Association of Kenya (BAHLITA), the stakeholders claimed that an attempt to exclude them from contributing to this process undermines both the letter and spirit of the constitution.
The association’s Secretary General Boniface Gachoka said the move further risks producing a legislation that is disconnected from the realities on the ground.
Gachoka, who addressed Journalists outside Parliament Buildings, said that BAHLITA represents more than 54,000 traders across the country with their members being the frontline enforcers of age restrictions, licensing requirements, product controls and tax compliance obligations.
“We support efforts to prevent youth access to tobacco products; we support stronger enforcement against illegal and non-compliant operators, however, we do not support regulatory frameworks that create duplication, increase compliance costs and weaken enforcement effectiveness,” said Gachoka.
He said that the major concern with the Bill is that the proposed licensing and registration framework risks creating unnecessary duplication with businesses operating under existing national and county regulatory frameworks should not be subjected to multiple layers of parallel compliance obligations.
Gachoka said that the Bill fails to adequately consider the realities facing the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, where every additional license fee, approval process and administrative requirement increases the cost of doing business and risks pushing operators into informality.
He said that the National and County Governments must work with the same playbook with a need for integrated databases, mutual recognition of licenses, seamless information sharing and a single window compliance framework that reduces fragmentation and improve oversight.
“Enforcement should focus on illicit tobacco products that undermine public health objectives, deprive government of critical revenue and create unfair competition for compliance businesses, with the solution being smarter enforcement, stronger traceability systems and better intelligence sharing targeting illegal operators,” said Gachoka.
He made it clear that the success of this Bill should not be measured by how many licenses are issued or how many registers are created but it should be measured by whether it reduces youth access to tobacco products, strengthen compliance, combat illicit trade, protect government revenue, and deliver better public health outcomes.
Gachoka said that BAHLITA is requesting the National Assembly not to make the same mistake that the Senate made and ensure that this process remains open, transparent and inclusive and that all affected stakeholders are afforded a genuine opportunity to be heard.
