Will MPs’ stance against Bill to control alcohol return to bite?

Parliaments all over the world have been known as places where elected representatives of the people develop, deliberate, and adopt legislation that promotes public interests.
In Uganda, Parliament has been at the forefront of originating, drafting and passing Bills that are often aimed at legitimising or annulling certain issues in society that are considered important to the betterment of the people.Against this background, Tororo District Woman Representative Sarah Opendi in November 2023 introduced before the floor of Parliament a private member’s Bill, which, among others, sought to regulate the purchase, sale and consumption of alcohol. The Bill sought to limit the hours of sale of alcohol by bar establishments to between 5pm and 10pm on weekdays. 
It also sought to establish stringent licensing and location requirements, where a bar or production plant should not be located anywhere within 400m of a school, fuel station, and residential areas. While moving the Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill, 2023, for a second reading, Opendi argued that the Bill intended to protect consumers from alcohol abuse.
“We need revenue but we also need a healthy population that will be productive to support this economy,” she said.
Similarly, a report by the Uganda Alcohol Policy Alliance (UAPA), the consortium that has championed the legislation campaign to regulate alcohol production and use in Uganda, confirms that Uganda is a leading alcohol consumer in Africa, and this situation has negative economic and social impact on the country's population.
Repeated surveys by the World Health Organisation (WHO), have categorised Uganda among the leading global alcohol consumers in more than three decades. For as low as Shs500 (about 0.13 cents of US Dollars), anyone as young as 15 years can access a packet of highly toxic beverage ranging anywhere between 40 and 50 percent of alcohol content.In East Africa, according to UAPA, Uganda leads in the consumption of alcohol with a per capita consumption of 12.21 litres per year, followed by Tanzania (9.4 litres), Rwanda (9 litres), Burundi (7.5 litres), and Kenya (3.4 litres).
Financial implicationsHowever, Parliament on August 13 rejected the Alcohol Control Bill, 2023, with the committees of Trade and Health arguing that if passed in the current state, the Bill would impose a financial implication on the Consolidated Fund.
“The committee, therefore, recommends that this August House should not proceed on the motion for Second Reading of the Alcoholic Drinks (Control) Bill, 2023,” MP Sylvia Nayebare, who presented the report, said.
The committees also urged the government to focus on the illicit trade of alcohol which accounts for 65 per cent of all the alcohol consumed in the country, saying the new bill does not indicate how it intends to eliminate the illicit trade in alcoholic drinks.
“The committee notes that whereas regulation of the Alcohol industry is good, such regulation should be fair, balanced, evidence-based and sustainable taking into account the various stakeholders,” the committee report read in part.
However, the decision by Parliament has been heavily criticised by a cross-section of civil society players who say the House failed the people of Uganda.
Mr Chris Kwezira, the Executive Director of the Uganda Non-Communicable Disease Alliance, said the process of rejecting the Bill was not transparent.
“To imagine that our entire Parliament would claim we don’t need a law to regulate alcohol—do we prioritise economics over health? Should we let Uganda continue leading Africa in alcohol consumption without any checks?” he wonders.
Ms Suzan Namarome, the Chief Commissioner of the Uganda Girl Guide Association, says rejection of the Bill undermines the efforts of civil society organisations, given the far-reaching negative effects of alcohol on Ugandan society.
“We have seen children drop out of school because their parents are consumed by alcohol. Others are living on the streets because of domestic violence fueled by drunkenness,” Ms Namarome says.
Ms Juliet Namukasa, the chairperson of the Uganda Alcohol Policy Alliance, says: “As civil society, we speak not only for ourselves but for the many Ugandans calling for health and prosperity. We need to tackle the issues that are damaging our country.”
Alcohol and Mental Health According to Prof Nazarius Tumwesigye from Makerere School of Public Health, statistics indicate that at least 17,000 people die each year in Uganda due to alcohol-related problems.
“Let me give you one simple example; did you know that in addition to being the high alcohol per capita consumers we also have high rates of people with mental health problems, 30 percent of all Ugandans have an issue with mental health and much of this is contributed by alcohol consumption,” Dr Tumwesigye said.
Prof Nazarius Tumwesigye from Makerere University School of Public Health also accuses Parliament of rejecting significant evidence supporting the bill that was presented before the committees.“We developed the Uganda Alcohol Policy based on evidence, but without legislation, it will not be effective,” Prof Tumwesigye says.
“There are claims that voters will reject MPs who support the bill, but our evidence shows that the public strongly backs this legislation,” he adds.A minority report presented by MPs Dr. Timothy Batuwa (Jinja City West) and Dr Nicholas Kamara (Kabale Municipality) supported the regulation of alcohol consumption hours, referencing successful policies from countries like Singapore and India.They argued that setting restrictions on alcohol sales would promote responsible drinking and boost productivity among citizens.
Despite these noble arguments, Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka urged Parliament to reject the Bill in its entirety, stating that it duplicated existing laws and would cause regulatory confusion. He also emphasized that the Bill lacked a Certificate of Financial Implication, which would impose a financial burden on the government.
In May 2024, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) released new data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), which shows among other things that cancer caused by alcohol is increasing globally. Movendi International has analysed the data for specific countries.
Among 15–49-year-olds, alcohol is the second biggest contributor to lost years of life and the burden of living with illness in Uganda. This is the age group that should drive the country’s economic productivity and growth, that could achieve progress for everyone through productive work. But alcohol harm undermines and jeopardizes this.
According latest GBD data, Uganda is one of the countries in the world that faces a dramatic increase in cancers caused by alcohol. Since 1990 there is a 20% increase in health harm due to cancers caused by alcohol in the country. In 2021, cancer due to alcohol caused 1,200 deaths in Uganda. Overall, alcohol caused at least 8,800 deaths in Uganda in 2021.
Uganda Alcohol Industry Association (UAIA), butted their eyelids to the health risks caused by unregulated alcohol sale, and instead asked Parliament to consider addressing the problem of illicit alcohol which is increasingly being commercialised without being subjected to production standards or payment of taxes, diverting the debate from the issues at hand.
Ms Jackie Tahakanizibwa, the secretary general of Uganda Alcohol Industry Association (UAIA), while appearing before the committees, said the restriction on hours to sell alcohol will affect consumers and other industry players. The association did not substantiate most of their claims. But Dr David Kalema, a WHO consultant on alcohol issues in Uganda, emphasizes that without comprehensive legislation governing the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol—including restrictions on access to minors—Uganda remains vulnerable to the risks associated with uncontrolled alcohol use.
Recent findings by the World Bank reveal that 7.1 percent of alcohol consumers, roughly 3.2 million people in Uganda, struggle with alcohol use disorders.
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Illicit trade
The committees (of Trade and Health) also urged the government to focus on the illicit trade of alcohol which accounts for 65 per cent of all the alcohol consumed in the country, saying the new bill does not indicate how it intends to eliminate the illicit trade in alcoholic drinks “The committee notes that whereas regulation of the Alcohol industry is good, such regulation should be fair, balanced, evidence-based and sustainable taking into account the various stakeholders,” the committee report read in part.