The mayor of Kuajok Municipal Council in Warrap State over the weekend lifted the ban on the sale and consumption of beer but said the local brewing, importation, and sale of alcoholic spirits remained prohibited because they are hazardous to human health.
On 26 June 2023, the Warrap State government in its order Number 23, banned the sale of all types of alcohol across the state.
Kuajok Municipal Council implemented the order on Wednesday last week and many traders said it had made them incur colossal losses.
Kuajok Mayor Liai Deng said that the ban on only beer was lifted last Friday because foreign traders were severely affected but that the ban on the sale of liquor and spirits remains firmly in place and is not negotiable.
“We allowed some traders to sell their beers because they have big stocks, one trader has more than 6,000 crates. So, it will cause a great loss to them if we ban the sale so I compromised and told them to sell beer,” he explained. “It does not look good if the government bankrupts traders and if we send them to other states, they can still incur losses. The town is also inhabited by different nationalities and there are hotels and the foreigners take alcohol responsibly while our locals make it a pass time.”
“One can stay in the lodge the whole day and this is dangerous to their health,” Mayor Deng added.
He however warned the traders against stocking up on alcohol again.
“I told them (traders) to finish selling their current beer stock and report to my office after which we will not allow any supply of beer in our state,” he stated. “They should look for markets elsewhere in other states. If they insist, we will punish them.”
The mayor insisted that the ban on spirits and liquor remains in place.
“The sale of vodka, whisky, and local spirits made out of sugar (siko), star gin, and all types of spirits and liquor is prohibited because the negative effect is quick and dangerous,” Deng stated. “We do not want them anymore and no trader should resume the sale of liquor.”
For his part, Mathiang Akol, a trader who sells local spirits, says he has nothing to do now that the government has prohibited his trade. He added that any alcohol can kill a person if consumed excessively.
“The ban has affected me and the women who sell local spirits and has created a bad economic situation. Our life was good because people with a little money could buy alcohol from us. Even those who sell sugar have been affected because women who distill spirits used to purchase a lot of sugar and yeast,” he said. “The government used to tax us and it is now the one banning the sale of spirits so we have nothing to do. If the authorities want people to be sober, why do they allow beer to be sold?”
“The government should also shut down bars because they have now closed our market,” Akol lamentingly added.