A display of nicotine , tobacco products. [Courtesy]
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.