The Government Tightened the Noose on Keroche Wine Company

| Photo | Courtesy | FILE

One month after the government shut down the Keroche wine company, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has taken further steps to cripple the company's financial capacity by issuing a notice to 36 banks against lending money to the company.

The activities of the Naivasha-based wine company were disrupted, with tax revenues of more than 300 million shillings.

The closure of the company risks about 250 employees, with more than half a billion shillings' worth of alcohol in tanks likely to be emptied.

Addressing reporters in Naivasha, the company's chief executive officer, Tabitha Karanja, said the company's current financial problems stem from the COVID-19 crisis.

Karanja called for the reopening of the wine company and asked the KRA tax collection council to give the company 12 months to pay the outstanding tax arrears.

According to the chief executive officer, Keroche has played a key role in the nation's economy through job creation and levying more than 30 billion shillings in taxes since its inception 25 years ago.