A section of Members of Parliament (MPs) on the House joint committee on trade and health have clashed with officials from the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS).

The Wednesday, March 6, clash followed UNBS officials insinuations that most of the provisions regarding the standard and penalties in the Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill 2023 are already provided for in other laws.

Acting UNBS executive director Daniel Nangalama submission showed that the proposal to ban the selling and production of the drinks is already provided for under the UNBS Act.

The Bill carries a restriction on the time within which alcohol is to be sold and heavy fines for offenders that will disrupt the law in case the Bill is passed and signed into law. 

The officials added that the penalties stipulated in the Bill are weaker compared to those in the UNBS Act and asked the committee to harmonise them.

Buhweju county MP Francis Mwijukye, Kyaka Central MP Tom Bright Amooti asked the bureau to clarify if they think the Bill is redundant.

The private member's Bill seeks to repeal the current alcohol legislation, including the Liquor Act, the Portable Spirit Act, and the Enguli (Manufacturing and Licensing) Act, all enacted in the 1960s, which have become obsolete to address modern challenges of excessive consumption of alcoholic drinks.

The Bill also seeks to prohibit the sale of alcoholic drinks to specified persons, regulate the promotion and advertisement of alcoholic drinks, create public awareness of the dangers of excessive consumption of alcoholic drinks, and provide for the rehabilitation, counselling and treatment of addicts.

No statistics

UNBS deputy executive director standards Patricia Ejalu also informed the committee that they have no statistics on what can be deemed to be high alcohol consumption by a person.