CORPORATE INTELLIGENCE AFRICA ISSUE 0024 | Page 20
BUSINESS
Meru county’s economy
By Boniface Otieno
to suffer as UK bans miraa
K
enyan miraa (khat) farmers and Meru county could lose billions of shillings in earnings after the British government banned importation of the stimulants. British Home Secretary Theresa May’s announcement of the ban could also render hundre ds of packers, transporters and farmers jobless. The announcement goes against the recommendation of the government’s official drugs advisory body, which had argued there was little evidence of health problems arising from miraa consumption. The ban led to tabling of a motion in Kenyan parliament by Meru County MP Florence Kajuju who wants a 23-member select committee formed to investigate the effects and the entire Miraa business. The committee would inquire into all matters relating to miraa, consider and review all research findings and make recommendations to the House within 90 days. Miraa has already been banned
in many Western countries, with the Netherlands being the latest country to make possession and trade in the stimulant illegal earlier in the year. Miraa traders are also considering suing the Netherlands government for banning the sale of the stimulant. Netherlands banned the sale of miraa early this year, following the footsteps of many European countries, the US and Canada, which have outlawed trade in the produce. In banning the stimulant, the Dutch government cited noise, nuisance by miraa users and littering as some of the reasons behind the decision. The country was the distri-
Left: Miraa on transit, miraa vendor and top right: Meru County Women Representative Florence Kajuju. Meru County residents are crying foul over the UK ban on miraa export.
bution hub for miraa to other European countries with estimations indicating that Kenya exported between 18 to 20 tonnes of Miraa to Netherlands weekly prior to the ban and the UK remained the largest international market for the stimulant taking up 30 tonnes of miraa from Kenya weekly. According to Nyambene Miraa Traders Association, farmers in Meru county realised Ksh1 billion from the crop last year, down from Ksh1.4 billion in 2011. Miraa has long been an important cultural crop in Meru county, particularly for the Igembe and Tigania communities.
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