Murang’a county security committee in partnership with the county liquor licensing board is working on various measures to reduce the number of bars in the county by more than half. The County Commissioner Patrick Mukuria has said there are more than 2, 000 bars in Murang’a adding that the board has received about 3, 000 new applications for liquor outlets. He stated that with members of the liquor licensing board, they will evaluate the new applications and come up with a strategy on how to reduce the number of bars as they restrain opening of new ones. Mukuria spoke during a meeting which brought together National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs) and members from the county liquor licensing board in his office on Tuesday. ‘The number of bars in the county is alarming. As one way of fighting abuse of alcoholism in the county, we will work on reducing the number of bars. The new applications will be well scrutinized before embarking on closing outlets which have contravened liquor laws,’ said Mukuria. The county commissioner expressed concerns that in some sub counties the number of bars is more than twice that of primary schools. ‘For example in Gatanga Sub County we have 349 bars against 92 schools. In Kahuro Sub County there are 218 alcoholic outlets against 70 primary schools. The committee has a big task to reduce these liquor outlets,’ added the administrator. He observed that alcoholism has contributed to deterioration of security, saying the drunkards end up stealing to get money to buy alcohol. ‘We call members of the community to work with us in dealing with this menace. It’s unfortunate our young people are reduced to zombies by alcohol and we have to fight the problem,’ said the county commissioner, adding that crackdown on counterfeit and illicit liquor is still going on. He noted that bars established in villages and near learning institutions will be first to be closed. On his part, the county secretary Newton Mwangi noted they are working to have few bars in the county saying apart from reducing the outlets, there are also plans to engage youth in various activities as a way to mitigate abuse of alcohol. ‘Our young people have indulged in alcoholism and as county administration we have to come up with programmes aimed to help them recover from alcohol abuse,’ said Mwangi. The revenue raised from bars, the secretary said, cannot be compared to destruction associated with abuse of alcoholism. He further called upon our young people to think of farming among other activities, which can make them generate income instead of wasting their time at drinking dens. ‘It needs a holistic approach in dealing with this problem and we will partner with the county security team to close bars operating against the law,’ Mwangi added.
Source: Kenya News Agency