Effects of Policy Regulation on Alcohol Trade in Kirinyaga County, Kenya

Although governments have absolute obligation to control alcohol trade and enactment of new laws, alcohol trade is still a big issue in Kenya. This article provides the investigation concerning effects of policy regulation on alcohol trade in Kirinyaga West, Kirinyaga County, Kenya. The article adopted the availability theory and single distribution theory pioneered by Single Eric and Sully Lederman respectively. 349 respondents from 38 urban centres in Kirinyaga West Sub County served as a target population. A sample size of 35 alcohol traders was used as respondents of the study. Interviews and questionnaires were used in data gathering. Quantitative data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics while qualitative data was analyzed into themes and patterns. The study results revealed that issuing of licensing limits; enacting licensing laws and penalties have helped regulate the alcohol trade. Corruption has undermined compliance with alcohol trade policies while police arrests have helped to control the alcohol trade. The study also showed that majority of alcohol traders do not conform to stipulated operating hours while a good number of manufacturers do conform to the requirements of labelling standards. In few cases alcohol is sold to underage persons. The study recommended that County government should educate members of the public and officials involved in alcohol regulation on how to implement enforcement strategies successfully. There should be proper evaluation of licensing policies to ensure they work well in alcohol trade regulation. The government should also carry out interim audits on alcohol businesses to ensure they comply with required policies that would lead to successful alcohol policy regulations.