Mansa Acting District Commissioner Charles Makwaya has bemoaned the excessive alcohol consumption in the district especially by youths.
Mr. Makwaya said alcohol consumption was retarding development in the district because people were continuously drinking beer instead of engaging themselves in productive activities.
He said beer drinking was also rife amongst the adolescents, posing a great danger to their lives and future as they could not go to school.
Mr. Makwaya was speaking when he officiated at an HIV/AIDS Alcohol Research Findings Dissemination Workshop by Health Communication Partnership (HCP) in Mansa.
The DC said there was need for people especially the youths to make positive life choices that would contribute to their improved livelihoods in the district instead of constantly engaging themselves in beer drinking.
Mr. Makwaya noted that the excessive beer consumption had resulted in increased HIV/AIDS prevalence levels in the district , which has increased from from 11 percent last year to 14 percent this year.
He said excessive alcohol intake in the district had exposed people to risky sexual encounters resulting in the further spread of HIV/AIDS.
“It is sad that we are spending more time drinking when we can shift that time to fighting poverty and HIV/AIDS which are our main enemies today,” Mr. Makwaya said.
Luapula Province HCP Programs Officer, Steven Filumba said there was need for strengthened partnership amongst all stakeholders to mitigate excessive beer drinking and thus reduce HIV/AIDS risky behaviors in the community.
Mr. Filumba called for enhanced enforcement of the law to regulate alcohol abuses among youths.
“We need the law to be enforced starting from the issuance of liquor licenses to routine monitoring of these beer outlets to ensure that they adhere to the law in terms of age limit and operational time,” Mr. Filumba said.
He noted that the local leadership needed to be involved in community mobilization for action on health and other social issues that come with excessive alcohol consumption.
HCP recently conducted a research in Chongwe district to learn about the factors that influenced alcohol consumption and the effects alcohol had on sexual risk-taking which resulted in spreading and contracting of HIV/AIDS.
The research recommended interventions to reduce Zambians’ vulnerability to excessive alcohol consumption and its consequences in health, social and economic spheres.
The report which was disseminated to stakeholders in Mansa over the weekend recommended that government needed to strengthen the capacity of the law officials to enforce the laws and regulations on liquor.
ZANIS/CB/MKM/ENDS
imiti ikula…… youth desist from this vice.
Teen drinking is very bad!
Pankwa, the youths will not stop drinking as long as there is no entertainment for then and other activities to keep them busy. As long as the situation stays as-is, they will drink their lungs out and engage into unprotected sex and join the zillion people who are hiv/aids band wagon.
Eeeeh life!!! Wat do u expect wth high unemployment levels?
Shani mami? I think it’s just a common practise in that age because even here where unemployment is low, there is equally excessive drinking among youths.
Bauze Chale !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! bafuna chabe kuti sebanya!!!!!!!!!
Ba 9 Chale you right. Its just a problem that we youths need to tackle for our own good. It ha nothing to do with unemployment
Even some prominent people are alcoholics. Some German politicians also have an alcoholic problem. Zambia should not just point fingers at the youths, this is a general problem in the society. Policy makers back to work!!
Uuuh! Drinking and sex, uuuh! We need to seek God’s guidance otherwise we are dead
Ba DC, there are no jobs. The few that are there are being taken away from the miners. So tell us; what do you expect? What should the youth do even in the absence of recreational facilities? The only recreation currently readily and easily available are alcohol and sex! Dont pretend as if you dont know what the situation is like on the ground. Give us solutions, not those worn out speeches that you discovered gathering dust on some shelf, and now you think by “sounding intelligent” Rb will promote you, NO!! You are off side iwe!
Ba Moze, the DC may not be 100% right but there is some truth in what he said. We young people like drinking and sex alot. Just observe youths with jobs (not the unemployed) you will be suprised that most of the money they earn goes to alcohol and hookers
Spot on my brother. However, nabamene aba ba kulu should lead by example. Too much sex with young girls and beer also, but i get your point. Thanks.
But who tells the editor that the young man in the picture is gasping for breath? For goodness sake the chap is singing, “Nizakukonda kuseni” by K Miilian! Be real, LT.
Ba Moze, big up to you. You are simply great!
How much is a bottle of Mosi ? I need to start making calculations. Please bloggers someone answer. If possible post the beers available pa Zed and the respective prices.
mosi – K3750 RRP
castle-K3750 RRP
windhoek – 4200
castle lite – 5500
heineken, amstel, 6-7 pin
grolsch – 8000
these prices are usually double in the places to be
Don’t blame the young man, he probably watched “binge drinking” in some movie. Is it not where they learn stuff from these days?
chakolwa
I just took a second look at the young man in the pic…doesn’t he look sorts, wow! guess he had indulged in some kachasu or chibuku from a junior police club somewhere…he also looks hungry.
The government should ban tujili jili those things are killing the kids.