Kiambu Begins Listening To Achohol Licensing Appeals.

The Kiambu County Alcoholic Drinks Regulations Administrative Review Committee began listening to appeals by wines and spirits applicants whose applications to sell the products had been denied by the sub-county Alcoholic Drinks Regulation Committees.

Speaking with the press on Monday, the committee chairperson Mr. Dominic Gacheru Kanyi said that the process was aimed at ascertaining these complaints by the traders and carrying out their own independent investigations so as to guarantee fairness into each individual case.

“We know that anyone can be denied the licence due to business rivalry, bribery and so on. That is why we were listening to each of their grievances. After this, we shall go straight to physically inspect their premises. We intend to accord each person a very fair hearing,” said Gicheru.

He added that they, in the interest of the public, wanted to ensure that the applicants’ premises conformed to the prescribed requirements of the occupational health and safety regulations, possessed the infrastructure and equipment necessary to carry out the business applied for and that the applicants possessed the relevant requirements stipulated under Standards Act.

“Once we are through with this assessment, my committee shall communicate to these applicants in writing whether we have objected to grant the licence applied for or we have no objection to the application as stipulated under section 11 of the Kiambu County Alcoholic Drinks Control Act, 2013. In the event that we do not object to the application, we shall grant them the licence upon payment of the prescribed fee,” he said.

Gicheru noted that the mood of the public was that the number of wines and spirits outlets be reduced so as to save their youth from the alcohol menace. There was also a regulation that no alcoholic outlet was to be licensed within 300m radius of any learning institution.

“We will not allow any person to manufacture, sell, distribute or deal with any alcoholic drink in the county except under and in accordance with a licence issued under the Act. We will not also allow anyone to retail these wines and spirits. We are only licensing wholesalers who meet the prescribed conditions,” said Gicheru.

Sometimes late last year, the Kiambu administration cancelled licences of all wine and spirits shops in the county following a public outcry due to the severity of alcohol abuse in the Mt. Kenya Region.