The combined team of Lusaka City Council (LCC) Police and State Police has apprehended 118 suspected underage people for underage beer drinking and patronizing of drinking places.
Lusaka City Council Acting Public Relations Manager George Sichimba confirmed the development in an interview with ZANIS today and said that the operation was conducted last night in Emmasdale, Garden, Chipata and Katakana compounds.
“ We can confirm that the Council and Zambia Police apprehended 118 underage people in the high Density areas of Emmasdale, Garden, Chipata and Kabanana compounds, respectively. The suspects were taken to Emmasdale Police Station for screening and those who will be found wanting will be charged accordingly, “ he said.
Mr. Sichimba stated that his Council has since advised young people not to be over excited and indulge themselves in illicit behaviour such as underage drinking of beer especially during this Easter holiday adding that the combined team of the Police and the Council, will continue with random operations throughout the holiday.
Meanwhile, LCC Police yesterday swung into action and apprehended 10 traders who were found vending in Kamwala and Central Business district (CBD), respectively.
Mr. Sichimba who disclosed this in the same interview said following the re-deployment of soldiers back to their barracks after they helped contain cholera and ensuring general cleanliness in the CBD especially, some vendors have attempted to return to the streets .
He explained that alert Council police officers pounced on the venders and thereby apprehended ten of them and consequently confiscated an assortment of their merchandise.
Mr. Sichimba added that the arrested ten venders will be penalized in line with the Statutory Instrument No. 10 of 2018 under Regulation 9 adding that those who will fail to pay the penalties will appear before the Fast Track Court next week.
The Acting PR Manager revealed that LCC working with other stakeholders among them the Security Wing in order to devise strategies aimed at preventing vendors from getting back on the street especially in the CBD.
“ In addition the Council will also deal with shop owners who have stated displaying goods in the corridors outside their shops,” he said adding that ,” A shop ends with it’s walls and the corridor remains a public property to be used by any member of the public.”
Mr. Sichimba said in is unfortunate that the local authority has observed that some shop owners in the city are taking advantage of free corridors due to the removal of vendors to display their merchandise outside shops.
Good job ba council. But please provide adequate alternative trading places as these are peasants looking for some hand to mouth
Btw… when is Tokyo Market coming up?? Our people need to start feeding decent meals to their families again! Are you waiting for them to starve to death because you don’t have enough stands to fit all the displaced vendors???
Instead of putting pressure on bars who sell to underage drinkers!!
After visiting Zambia recently, l have come to agreed that indeed there’s a ‘time bomb’ ticking and will no doubt explode very soon. Things are BAD especially with our young who are languishing in real poverty. The whole country is destroyed now with no Police service, prostitution, drunkenness, hunger and no law nor order except, a complete breakdown of security in every department in Zambia today
What facilities are there to occupy the minds of young people so that they stay away from alcohol? Same govt that allows schools that have no facilities for physical activity, sporting activity to open gets surprised if young people fill the voids in their lives with whatever they find. Bishop Joshua Banda’s church runs a school with no play ground. How that was allowed I do not understand. Go-ahead countries offer a range of sporting disciplines from athletics, cricket, rugby, football, hockey, netball, lawn tennis,table tennis, swimming, chess, softball, boxing, judo,basket ball, performing arts like drama and music, etc apart from book learning. And with commercialization of sport in the world these days, these could career options. We are so lagging behind other countries. When the…
I read somewhere that the government under the auspices of the religious affairs outfit will legislate morals. See, I mentioned earlier that you cannot institutionalize religion in government unless you want to give up your core moral duty to bring up an upright society. Here now we will soon have an entire political machinery deciding when we should clean our babies once they mess their nappies. Watch this space…
Now we have authorities targeting the consumer instead of the supplier. At the very least target BOTH! Otherwise we will be like the pursuers drug users instead of the drug pushers… awe mwe.
Its not an offence to drink as a minor. The offence is to SERVE or SELL alcohol to an under-age. Period. Release those young drinkers afterall some of them are big-buyers !