Waititu’s war on liquor comes under scrutiny

Recovering alcoholic addicts from Makwa in Gatundu North in Kiambu County, an area is notorious for brewing and consumption of chang'aa, demonstrate how the brew is prepared on February 23, 2018. The addicts are undergoing rehabilitation financed by the county government to Kiambu. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GOUP

What you need to know:

  • In the rehabilitation programme, some 4,000 youth, who have blamed joblessness for their alcohol abuse, have been put under the county payroll, in what Mr Waititu says will keep them busy.  
  • But a section of the leaders have faulted the programme, arguing that it was not well thought-out and could be a waste of public resources as some use their pay to buy alcohol.
  • The county is also on the spot for allegedly using goons to conduct crackdowns, with alcohol dealers claiming that the youths who accompany county officers have been looting their stocks.

The approach adopted by the Kiambu County government in fighting alcoholism has elicited many questions.

Governor Ferdinand Waititu has been on a campaign to eradicate alcoholism in the region, with the key planks of the strategy being raids on outlets selling alcohol, licensing restriction and a rehabilitation programme.

However, doubts are fast emerging about the effectiveness and sustainability of this strategy.

JOBLESSNESS

In the rehabilitation programme, some 4,000 youth, who have blamed joblessness for their alcohol abuse, have been informally put under the county payroll, in what Mr Waititu says will keep them busy and guarantee earning.  

Already, a section of the leaders have faulted the programme, arguing that it was not well thought-out and could be a waste of public resources as some use their pay to buy alcohol - the very thing the county government is trying to keep them away from.

According to Mr Waititu, the county is incurring a daily budget of Sh2 million to sustain the programme, with Sh400 spent on each youth five days a week.

SH520 MILLION

This is in the form of Sh100 for breakfast and lunch and in the evening, each youth pockets Sh300 after doing manual jobs such as collecting garbage and clearing road reserves in their respective villages.

The governor says the youth will be in the programme for at least one year before a fresh lot is enrolled, meaning that the county will have spent a staggering Sh520 million on the 4,000 youth only.

The figure is five times the annual Constituency Development Fund allocated to Thika or Ruiru constituencies, each with a population of more than 250,000 people.

 “By the end of this term, we want to have benefited around 20,000 youth. We will also ensure the beneficiaries acquire skills and the county will also help them start businesses,” says Mr Waititu.

In March, he asked the county assembly to approve a budget of Sh160 million to fund the project until June and also pass a law to legitimise the programme.

CRACKDOWNS

But a section of leaders, among them Woman Representative Gathoni Wamuchomba have faulted the programme. She contends that the county was not getting value for money as some of the youth had confessed that they were using money to buy alcohol.

Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina too argued that giving money to alcoholics was not the best option, saying they should first be taken through a proper rehabilitation programme.

The county is also on the spot for allegedly using goons to conduct crackdowns, with alcohol dealers claiming that the youths who accompany county officers have been looting their stocks which they later sell.

Already, more than 20 legal businesses, mostly wines and spirits dealers have reported such incidents to the police.

CONFISCATED

There are allegations that the goons have been selling the “confiscated” stock in Murang’a and Nairobi counties.

A trader, Ms Esther Njeri, claims she lost liquor stocks  worth Sh1.2 million after county officials, backed by more than 20 youths in six county Land Rovers, raided her shop at OJ in Ruiru on March 27 at around 6pm.

Kiambu County Bar Owners Association chairman Richard Kagiri says that in another incident, county officials, with the backing of the youths, broke into the Dega Wines and Spirits shop in Kiambu town and took off with stock worth Sh4.5 million.