STAKE HOLDERS DEMAND LAW AND POLICIES ON ALCOHOL AND DRUGS

By Godwin Abedican

Arua

Stake holders in West Nile are concerned over the lack of policies towards regulation of alcohol related issues which has been seen as the biggest contributing factor to poor health among the people in the region. The stake holders voiced their appeal for robust steps by the government to ensure the young generation is saved from the wide spread uncontrolled production, circulation and consumption of alcohol during an engagement recently in Arua city organized by voice of restoration.

According to Hon. Dr. Didi Bhoka George, the Member of Parliament for Obongi constituency, the parliaments efforts towards having laws continuously face fightbacks due to people’s conflict of interest. “We had to anchor it in the public health amendment act. Efforts were made to cause the government to prepare a bill for the prevention and control of alcohol but what I can bring to the public for attention is that the forces against the bill keep growing stronger and stronger,” he said. Hon. Bhoka further adds that with many looking into the financial stands it further complicates the efforts to have a law in place.

His Highness Yuma Amuku Manaseh, the Chief (Agofe) of the Lugbara Cultural institution (The Lugbara Kari) says the rate at which youth are into drugs and alcohol is very worrying spelling doom for the region and country. “Today, who are the ones drinking this alcohol? Majority are the youth and our young people. I did a research and found out that there are over 40 different types of alcohol in the market all with over 40 percent alcohol content that the youth are using for killing themselves. Our young children today are older than us. Where are we going with this?” he asked with concern in his comments.

Alekua J’affar the clerk to Council Lugbara Kari, regrets that, the government is too greedy to think about its population and their health. “Let government compare destruction of land and water by polythene and destruction of human life by alcohol with money. One of these things is more important than money, the money these items bring is so much less than the havoc they are causing,” Alekua appealed.

Hon. Sarah Opendi, the Tororo district woman member of parliament recently moved a private members bill in the 11^th parliament which has been forwarded to the health and trade committee of parliament being processed, currently at the stage of public hearing, pending submission of position papers from the authorities to allow a report to be prepared for laying before parliament.

However, Hon. Wadri Kasiano Ezati, former legislator for Arua municipality the current Arua central division says the parliament is the biggest failure in this as the laws in place are being duplicated. “I think the situation we are in as a country is not because of lack of legal frameworks. I remember when I was young and as a civil servant also involved in politics, there was the alcohol control decree of the late president Idi Amin Dada. It is still in our law books; it is still a legal document. The problem here is lack of political goodwill,” Wadri emphasized.

In 2019 Uganda ranked the eighth leading country in the world with 12.48 liters of pure alcohol per capita. And its consumption has been linked to more than two hundred (200) diseases and injury conditions including infectious diseases, cancer cardiovascular diseases and mental disorders among others.

COVER PHOTO: Hon. Dr. Didi Bhoka George making a presentation during the engagemenet By Godwin Abedican

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