By CHIPEMA SAKAIMBO –
JACK Township residents in Lusaka have expressed concern over the rampant brewing and consumption of the illicit brew, commonly known as kachasu in the area.
The residents said that reckless kachasu drinking had turned Jack Township into a den of criminal activities, especially involving the youth.
The residents, who refused to be identified, said some youths in the area had resorted to abusing kachasu at the expense of doing productive things.
“Most of the people that sit and buy these wines are young and should be doing other productive things, but they are busy wasting their lives here,” one resident said.
The residents appealed to relevant authorities to move in and stop Kachasu brewing in Jack Township so as to reduce on crime in the area.
Lusaka City Council public relations manager Habeenzu Mulunda said it was hard for the local authority to locate where such activities were taking place as people do such businesses secretly.
Mr Mulunda requested residents with information on the whereabouts of Kachasu selling points to furnish the council with such details.
“Illicit wine brewers should abide by the law and not commercialise the drink because the council will soon pounce on them and their bars will be shut down,” he said.
Mr Mulunda warned that Kachasu was harmful to one’s health and negatively affected the community as a whole, hence his appeal to the public to desist from buying the illicit beer.