Bar and restaurant owners, under their umbrella body Legit Entertainment, Bars, and Restaurant Owners’ Association (LEBRA), are concerned that the Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill 2023, once passed into law, will lead to the termination of staff and other suppliers.
According to them, the restricted hours under section 14 of the bill would likely lead to a lack of sufficient demand for alcoholic drinks. As a result, members would be required to make adjustments to their operational procedures, particularly reducing the number of staff on afternoon and late shifts to save on labour costs.
“The projected impact is a 40% drop in revenue for bars and retail outlets, which would necessitate cutting expenses by bar owners. This might see a drop in bar employees by 40%, which translates into 119,280 jobs lost,” said George Osinya, the LEBRA Deputy Secretary-General.
While appearing before the Parliamentary Committee of Health, Trade, and Tourism, which is scrutinizing the Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill 2023, he said that bars are one of the largest employers of unskilled labour in the country, with more than 2 million people employed as cleaners, bouncers, storekeepers, security guards, service staff, as well as skilled chefs, DJs, among others.
In addition, Osinya said the restriction on drinking hours will result in extortion by agencies charged with enforcing this provision, as seen during the COVID-19 lockdown where some police officers and the army were accused of extorting money from bar operators.
Meanwhile, Onapito Ekomoloit, the Patron of the Uganda Alcohol Industry Association (UAIA), said that the alcohol industry is open to regulation. However, such regulation should be fair, balanced, evidence-based, and workable, taking into consideration the interests of all stakeholders.
He said that regulation introducing unknown and unquantifiable costs to business should be reviewed for its impact on all value chain players whose livelihoods depend on the alcohol sector, as well as its overall socio-economic impact on the economy. Any such costs should be removed or minimized.
“A detailed Regulatory Impact Assessment should be conducted to understand the impact of the proposed law on stakeholders, including the value chain players whose livelihoods depend on the Food, Beverage, and Entertainment Sector, and such costs should be removed or minimized,” said Ekomoloit.
He added that the bill should address the problem of illicit alcohol by putting in place robust provisions to regulate risk areas such as informal alcohol, which is increasingly becoming commercialized without being subjected to production standards and payment of taxes.
Quoting the 2021 Euromonitor Report on Illicit Alcohol in Uganda, Jackie Tahakanizibwa, the UAIA General Secretary, said legal alcohol only accounts for 35% of the total volume of all alcohol consumed in Uganda, while illicit alcohol accounts for 65%.
“In Uganda, illicit alcohol consists of three categories: illicit homebrew, illicit/illegal imports, and counterfeit alcoholic beverages, with the most common homebrews including waragi, malwa, and tonto,” she stated.
Adding that: “Illicit alcohol poses great health risks to those who consume it. Regulated alcohol manufacturers adhere to the highest international standards for the health and safety of consumers with various measures including carrying an indication of alcohol content (ABV) and standard packaging. On the other hand, illicit alcohol producers can’t measure alcohol content, thereby posing serious health risks.”