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Anti-drug and alcohol advocacy group, Choma Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Organization (CADRO), wants the government to undertake a radical overhaul of the existing regulatory framework on the production and sale of alcohol.
The organisation in a statement on Wednesday also called for the establishment of a National Alcohol Regulatory Authority (NARA) that will take stock of the quantity and safety of alcohol brands that are being offloaded onto the market.
“CADRO believes that it is long overdue that we start to regulate the production of alcohol and alcohol products looking at the increasing number of alcohol brands that are on the market today,” CADRO Board Chairperson Mukengami Maketo stated.
Maketo said it was astonishing the increase in sale of strong alcohol brands commonly referred to as Junta which are openly sold in public places such as streets, bus stations, markets and tuntembas (kiosks).
“This trend on its own can be attributed to the explosion in respect of the number of young people currently abusing alcohol,” he said.
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Maketo, an educational psychologist , observed that most public places that have now become mini bars are visited on an everyday basis by young people and have such intoxicating and addictive substances.
He said the trend was connected to the increase in teenage delinquency which “we have begun referring to as Junkies”.
While the local government is in charge of the liquor licensing, Maketo said it was evident that councils have failed to enforce many aspects of this statutory Act resulting in an increase in the production of illicit alcohol called Kachasu.
“Unfortunately, this has taken a huge toll on the health of its users, especially young people who we see with puffy facial features and swollen bellies as a result,” he said.
He said creating a national alcohol regulatory authority was a practical way of establishing an inventory to take stock of the number of companies involved in alcohol production.
“This will inevitably be a cardinal step of getting them to adhere to safety standards and in a way a supply reduction intervention,” Maketo said.
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