Top manufacturer used Guarana cans to sell illicit liquor

Employees of a local spirits manufacturer that prides in trailblazing the manufacture and selling of liquor in aluminum containers have revealed details of how its top management maneuvered through the government’s fight against illicit brew.

After rising from legal battles of trademark infringement in the production of its ready to drink alcohol-branded Momentum Ice with Guarana, the company launched yet another product called Ferrari Ice sold in cans.

Ferrari Ice is said to have been manufactured targeting male drinkers as opposed to Momentum that is said to be a ladies version.

Since last year, the company has targets of launching two new products annually and the board of directors’ chairperson is reported having identified the perception that locally manufactured alcohol is illicit as the greatest challenge in the business.

A section of the employees whose name we withhold for fear of victimisation spoke to Urepoter news desk accusing the management of ruthlessness and unfair treatment when at work.

They started off with a recount of the period when the government had staged a serious fight on illicit liquor revealing how their company’s use of cans saved their jobs and a better part of the business.

At the company premises, there are sections for making well-branded cans and cartons for packaging its products.

The three casuals who work at the section that fills cans and bottles with ready liquor said they remember how they were instructed to use Guarana branded cans to fetch sell their alcohol.

They claimed that the company notified all its retailers of the plan as it could help skip suspicions from government officials that had mounted a serious crackdown on such spirits.

According to the employees, the unscrupulous retailers could then alert buyers that what was in the cans was different from the brand escaping the unsuspecting officers so easily.

 The employees say that the chairperson insists that he is referred to as the NACADA chairman and tells them that they are young people who can get jobs elsewhere warning them not to do or say anything that would bring his company on its feet.

The chairperson ensures that all likely losses to be incurred during production such as spillages and breaking of bottles are slashed back to the company from their daily wages.

“At the end of every work shift, he weighs broken bottles and packed alcohol against what had been produced so as to estimate spillages. He then approximates the worth of the unrecoverable losses and deducts from the pay of those who were on duty at that particular time,” said one of the workers.

According to them the chairperson is directly involved in the production section and accuse him of being a close supervisor of the experts employed in alcohol production so that he can learn how they do the job and later sacks them.

“Edwin used to work at the initial production stage section. He was an expert who was being paid handsomely but the chairman was always at his desk to observe how he does the work. He asked him not to report to work after he learned the science and now does it on his own,” he added.

They claim that on a day with more leakages and broken bottles they are only paid as low as Sh150 each despite working overnight and producing alcohol worth millions.