Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala on Sunday condemned the Shisha ban arguing that the Ministry of Health should have put a tax on the product rather than doing away with it altogether.
Speaking during a three-day induction retreat for the National Assembly Committee on Sports at Pride Inn hotel in Mombasa, Balala faulted the outgoing Health CS Cleopa Mailu for the move terming it a miscalculated one.
He told the legislators that the ban would hurt the economy adding that taxing the product would have generated more revenue for the government and in the process, deal with the health concerns associated with the water-pipe tobacco.
[caption caption="File image of CS Najib Balala"]
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“You do your job, we will support but you don’t wake up overnight and ban shisha. The whole world has shisha, why ban it in Kenya? If we have issues of health, put a tax. Why don’t you ban cigarettes? Why don’t you ban alcohol? I am not a smoker so I am not defending shisha smokers,” the tourism CS explained.
Balala gave the example of one restaurant in Monaco which earned 100 Million euros from the sales of shisha alone stating: "If we get 10 or 20 percent from this, it will be good revenue for the government.”
[caption caption="File image of Shisha"]
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He faulted the National Environment and Management Authority (NEMA) for raiding and closing down clubs conveying that the agency's actions were meant to harass and frustrate business owners.
“NEMA, for example, wakes up and decides to close a nightclub, in the guise of noise. This is one way of frustrating investors. You mean all along they never knew this club existed?”
“This country is a gem in terms of tourism, but we haven’t packaged it well. I can tell you the potential is there we just have to partner and be stronger together.
"When you see a project, business or a hotel that has not been completed, know that the owner has been frustrated through the process by us in government collectively,” the CS elucidated.
Earlier in December, outgoing CS Mailu was taken to court by traders after issuing the shisha ban.
[caption caption="File image of outgoing Health CS Cleopa Mailu"]
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The applicants moved to Milimani Law Courts accusing the CS of irregularly making the decision through a notice he issued.
