The Alcoholic Beverages Association of Kenya (ABAK), which represents the country’s largest alcohol producers – including East African Breweries Ltd (EABL/Diageo), Kenya Wine Agencies Ltd, and London Distillers – is aggressively lobbying against a proposal designed to improve tax collection, close loopholes, and make alcohol companies pay their fair share.
Advance excise duty is a standard revenue safeguard designed to curb tax evasion and ensure timely collection. By resisting this measure, ABAK members are protecting corporate profits at the expense of Kenya’s urgent need to raise revenue and strengthen fiscal accountability. Their opposition undermines efforts to make alcohol taxation fairer and more effective, while leaving space for tax leakage and illicit practices.
EABL’s involvement is especially significant. As Kenya’s dominant alcohol company and a subsidiary of global giant Diageo, EABL has repeatedly opposed effective alcohol policy measures – from taxation to availability controls. Its leadership within ABAK means this opposition reflects a coordinated strategy by Big Alcohol to weaken enforcement and avoid stronger fiscal measures that would benefit Kenyans.
Political interference, or lobbying, is Big Alcohol’s activity to eliminate or minimize any alcohol policy effort that would threaten sales and profits. The focus of this Dubious Five strategy is the decision-makers and opinion leaders with the power to shape and decide alcohol policy decisions. Tactics of political interference are delay, derail, or even destroy alcohol policy initiatives, and to divide coalitions supporting alcohol policy initiatives. Big Alcohol is paying lobbyists and lobby front groups to interfere in public health policy making around the world.
Source:
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/counties/article/2001475829/brewers-oppose-advance-excise-duty-on-alcoholic-drink