Stop Killing Our Businesses With Over-Regulation

Business owners in Nakuru County have today urged lawmakers in the Kenyan Senate to resist the urge to pass a contentious Bill before them in its present form, arguing that doing so will lead to overregulation that will hurt their businesses.

Speaking to the media today, the traders expressed their reservations over proposals contained in the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, 2024, that is currently before the Senate, saying that it risks adding more regulatory burden on the industry and businesses, thereby leading to reduced business.

The Bill, sponsored by nominated Senator Catherine Mumma, seeks to make it illegal for a person to sell tobacco products through hawking; make it illegal for a person to advertise, offer for sale or sell tobacco products in any online or digital platform, including social media sites, video-sharing platforms or other digital content platforms; and seeks to ban flavours in nicotine products.

However, according to the Nakuru traders, the existing law, which regulates the tobacco sector, is already adequate to deal with products sold by the tobacco sector.

“As businesspeople who trade in products in the tobacco industry, we find that what the Senate is embarking on is overregulation in the sector. And it is our firm belief that this will end up doing two things:  One, it will hurt our businesses because, as more laws and regulations are introduced into the industry, it will be harder for the industry to provide these products, and therefore, we will end up losing out on sales.

“Secondly, the introduction of this law will open a floodgate to illicit and counterfeit products into the market, which are unregulated by the Kenya Bureau of Standards, the Ministry of Health, and neither will they be subjected to Kenya Revenue Authority taxes. This will be because, as it becomes harder for the industry to make available these products under the tough regulations, unscrupulous traders will seek to take advantage of the situation and offer consumers sub-standard products through the black market,” said Tamim Mwangi, a business owner in Nakuru.

While acknowledging that a need to ensure the existing laws cater to concerns that may be associated with new products such as vapes and pouches, the traders say that the formulation of such regulation should consider broader factors such as the effects it would have on businesses.

“We appreciate that health considerations for the people must be put into consideration, and hence the reason to have regulation that ensures that our laws are alive to new and emerging products and trends. However, such laws must be alive to other factors involving the wider population.

“In this regard, we implore the Senate to enhance its public participation on this Bill, to consider appropriate amendments that will not be exceedingly tough on businesses, while at the same time balancing the health interests of the country.

 “We urge our senators to reconsider this Bill, appreciating that we are already over-regulated, and taking into consideration the need for wider consultations on the proposals that are in it to ensure that the outcome is fully representative of the wider hopes and aspirations of the people of Kenya,” they said.

The Bill is awaiting committee stage at the Senate, having gone through second reading amidst accusations that wide public participation in it was not undertaken.

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