Lusaka City Council (LCC) has warned parents and guardians that they risked being prosecuted if they allow their under-age children to patronize bars and night clubs.
The local authority says it was seriously contemplating on enacting a by-law that would ensure that parents and guardians found wanting are prosecuted together with the bar owners.
Speaking in an Interview with ZANIS in Lusaka yesterday, LCC Assistant Public Relations Manager, Brenda Katongola urged parents and guardians to ensure that children under the age of 18 do not patronize taverns, bars and night clubs as it was an offence.
Ms. Katongola disclosed that over the weekend, the Council conducted an operation in Chilenje, Kabwata and Woodlands in which 30 under age patrons were arrested for being found in pubs.
She disclosed that 22 under age patrons were picked from Lazy Men’s bar, Chris Corner bar in Chilenje Township and at KCC bar in Kabwata Township while eight were picked from Border View bar.
She said the suspects were first taken to Woodlands Police Station before being detained at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe prison.
She said all the 30 under-age patrons have since been released upon paying K22 .50 admission of guilt fines while the bar owners would soon be prosecuted in the Fast-track court system.
Ms. Katongola further cautioned other bar and night club owners against allowing under age patrons in their premises or risk being arrested for breaking the law.
She said the operation was on-going in the townships and compounds in the city.
Parents “do not allow” their under-age kids to go drinking in bars, so punish the bar owners and the under-age kids themselves.
Brenda Katongola…….
What is your level of academic qualification? How can you be so shallow in your analysis of the situation? It certainly cannot be parents fault. In all the countries I have been to and they are quite many, the back stops at the bar owners and children themselves. I may not know about Islamic countries. Poor analysis will lead to poor policies. No wonder Lusaka City council is a place of mourning for any ordinary Zambian seeking any service from there. Waste Management received money from a church and never collected the waste. They gave up after many follow-ups. Shame.
This woman. You think children get permission to go to bars from their parents?
Where is Chingola local authority,this should also be done in Chingola atleast once a month in places like Kapisha,Town centre,Chiwempala,Chabanyama,Lulamba and Kasompe.Dont just seat in your offices get out and help to sort out this scourge of underage drinking.
I object to naming a prison facility after an intellectual giant, Mwansa Kapwepwe. Prisons, police stations and other torture centres should be named after vicious and brutal personalities like Kenneth Kaunda and William Banda.
Katongola wa mbalala are you a parent or you still have some unfinished business with parenthood? How can you open your mouth and threaten parents when such children found in bars are excessively disobedient? Just arrest the deliquents and the bar owners.
please direct me to simon mwansa kapwepwe prison only heard of police station
LCC please come and see what nonsense takes place at TEXACO bar in northmead . The problem of under age drinking is nauseating to say the least. The owner, of foreign origin when confronted simply says it is not his problem he is there to make money. how disgusting!
…nonsense….which parent or guardian in their rightful mind would allow and tolerate under age to go drinking in bars…??…or indulging in sexual activities…??….if that can be proved ofcourse prosecute them though its a very rare phenomenon….
Usually these kids are in the company of an adult….those are the culprits to target including the present supervisor of the premises(bar)….
Some premises are tricky especially those with so called ‘gardens’….young guys in their 20s sneak in with ‘toddlers’ girls and settle somewhere darkish. The older boys do the buying of liquor. Its only after the girls get drank do they expose themselves with fun behaviour……I witnessed it at one of the premises in Solwezi….At times even bar workers/owners are unaware of such….
LCC you have people like this katongola as a manager. what kind of policies do you expect her to come up with.what someone says is a direct representation of their thought process.
Let me mention hear that the law on under age drinking and bar owner who opt to sell alcohol to underaged persons is already there.What this brenda needs to do is enforce it and let us know how she intends to it, not trying to suggest measures that clearly did not have any measure of intellectual thought process applied to them.
what do you expect parents to do?if you punish the children its human rights so live with it.
Why attack Katongola for her LCC “solution” to underage drinking, you foster and absentee parents? You are all being defensive. Katongola has identified and admitted a problem; yet most of you spent time denying it as if these delinquents don’t learn from you how to drink or don’t sneak through your finders, through your grille doors and electric fences to drive bmws and altezas you bought them. Let’s work together. I don’t ever think any council alone can solve this underage drinking without parents or with hostile parents.