Relocate pubs operating in residential areas, Mzuzu Youth ask council

Beer halls operating in residential areas within Mzuzu City must be relocated to elsewhere, Chiputula Youth Organisation (CYO) has petitioned.

Happy Mhango, CYO executive director, said at a sensitization meeting funded by National AIDS Commission (NAC) in Zolozolo Township in the city that “the problem has become so extreme in the Chiputula and Zolozolo locations.”

He said while the pubs are only supposed to operate until 10 pm, most of them run until in the wee hours of the day – a situation he said is impacting negatively on school going children.

Mhango also noted that the presence of the pubs has also been cause for the proliferation of alcoholism and drug substance abuse among youths living in the vicinity.

“Girls have also been easily taken up, and some are now complete sex workers,” he said.

The phenomenon, he said, has led to rise in HIV prevalence rate in the areas.