Four counties among them Nairobi have overhauled their liquor licensing teams a week after Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua scolded leaders for skipping his event at the Coast.
The counties of Nairobi, Wajir, Kwale and Kajiado, through Gazette notices released on Saturday, reshuffled their liquor boards in an effort to streamline service delivery even as the Office of the Deputy President continues to fight drug abuse.
In Nairobi County, Governor Johnson Sakaja appointed eight individuals to the county board and sub-county committees while revoking those of three members.
Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi, on the other hand, appointed eight to the Wajir County Anti-Drug and Substance Abuse Taskforce and directed them to establish the types of drugs and substances being trafficked and abused and the magnitude of the problem in the county.
Other duties include the establishment of key ingredients used in the manufacture and production of illicit drugs in the County as well as identification of the the source of trafficked illicit drugs in the County, their entry points and mode of transportation.
Kajiado County appointed a new team of five individuals to the Kajiado County Alcoholics Drinks Board.
The county's Governor Joseph Ole Lenku directed the Chief Executive Officer in charge of Social Services to undertake a comprehensive policy review of the Kajiado County Alcoholic Drinks Act and prepare amendments to cabinet 'within the shortest time possible.'
In Kwale, the Chief Executive Council Member for Social Services appointed new members to the Kwale County Liquor Management Board for three years.
On Monday last week, Gachagua was unimpressed by leaders' choice to skip the Coast Region Conference on Illicit Alcohol and Narcotic Drugs Abuse he had opened in Mombasa.
He accused Coast leaders of maintaining silence despite the prevalence of drug abuse in the region.
Gachagua, as a result, accused the leaders of being complicit in the widespread sale of drugs.
"Why are leaders in Coast quiet as our young population is being destroyed by drugs? Why are some not here? This is a very important conference to discuss the very existence of our population in this region. This is a conversation that every elected leader should be a part of because it is a serious problem," he remarked.
"If you are afraid of drug barons, I am not afraid of them. If you keep quiet, how will we know where the problem is?"
The DP and his wife Dorcas Rigathi have been battling drug abuse, especially among youth from Mt Kenya which they argue is denying the country productive young people.
In the past month, illicit alcohol led to the death of 17 individuals in Kirinyaga County leading to a raft of directives including the closure of all clubs and bars for a fresh licensing exercise.
