Alcohol manufacturers Nile Breweries Limited (NBL) have asked the Parliamentary Health Committee, which is now reviewing the Alcohol Consumption Control Bill 2023, to have bars open at noon and close at midnight, while rejecting the idea to limit the time.
According to Emmanuel Njuki, the Head of Legal and Corporate Affairs at NBL, while appearing before the Parliament health committee on December 20, 2023, alcohol should remain available in Uganda from midday in bars with no closing hours.
“The distributors and supermarkets should be open from 8 a.m. to all dispatches of stock-up country,” Njuki said.
He added that limited time may not necessarily translate into people drinking less.
“Does the clause anticipate that nightclubs will open to sell soft drinks and music while restricting the sale of liquor after 10 p.m.?” Njuki queried.
He further stated that the nightclub economy drives the Ugandan economy; therefore, a law that impacts the nightclub economy negatively impacts the economy of the country too.
On November 14, Tororo Woman MP Sarah Opendi presented the Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill, 2023, to Parliament. The bill seeks to regulate the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcoholic drinks and also prohibit the sale of alcoholic drinks to children, among other proposals.
