“Release Impounded Ethanol to Make Free Sanitizers,” Orders the Government

The Kenyan government has ordered the release of seized ethanol in a bid to address the hand sanitizer shortage in the country. This is according to the directive issued on Thursday, March 19, 2020, by the Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua.

“The government is desirous of distributing affordable sanitizers to the general public. To this end, corporations in the oil industry have volunteered to produce alcohol-based sanitizers for distribution for free to the general public,” Mr. Kinyua says in a letter addressing the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner-General James Mburu, National Environmental Management Agency (NEMA) MD Mamo Mamo, the Director of Public Health Dr. Patrick Amoth and the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti, the managing director of Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Dr. Daniel Manduku, Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) Lt Col (Rtd) Bernard Njiraini, KPC’s Dr. Macharia Irungu and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) chief executive Twalib Mbarak.

Mr. Kinyua has instructed all ethanol held under any violations at the various points of entry and Customs areas to be released to the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC).

The Head of Public Service adds, “KPC will liaise with the oil industry players, who have expressed willingness to produce the sanitizers, for the expedited manufacture and distribution.”

KPC is expected to implement an accountability framework to ensure that the ethanol is utilized for the manufacture and distribution of the sanitizers.

It is alleged that there are thousands of liters of impounded ethanol in various government stores following the 2015 KRA public notice which announced measures to govern, access, purchase, and import ethanol as a government’s initiative to fight illicit production and consumption of spirits.

On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, the Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced that three more people have tested positive for coronavirus in Kenya, thereby bringing the total number of confirmed cases to seven.

As a way of arresting the spread of Covid-19, The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the use of alcohol-based sanitizers. Ethanol is a key ingredient in the manufacture of the product.