Authorities in Kayonza have warned residents in the district against drinking during early morning hours instead of tending to their gardens or getting engaged in other productive work. John Mugabo, the Mayor of Kayonza District, said on Saturday that men should join their wives to plant enough food for their families instead of going to bars early in the day. Mugabo, who advocated for a door-to-door sensitisation campaign on farming, said several women were responding positively by going to gardens but men were still reluctant. “We are not going to accept people to continue crying of hunger as if it never rains in the district. Instead of them utilising the rains to plant crops, they are busy drinking and lying under trees,” he said. He said that abusing alcohol and laziness were the main reasons some sectors were lagging behind in food production. “It’s all about hard work; our land is very fertile, if people planted crops during the first rains, I am sure every household would have enough food with even surplus for the market. We shall punish those drinking during working hours,” he said. Mugabo said the government is distributing a variety of seedlings in the district which people must not waste. He urged the agronomists to always ensure that people get the required seeds at the right time to avoid delays in planting. Meanwhile, Police say that alcohol abuse was linked to Gender Based Violence (GBV). “Often the violence in homes is a result of too much alcohol consumption. ‘‘While drinking alcohol may not be the cause of the violence, it can make the situation more volatile, increasing the severity and regularity of the abusive incidents,” the Eastern region police spokesman, IP Emmanuel Kayigi said. The New Times saw some people drinking in Mwiri Sector on Saturday as early as 8:00 am. Claude Bizimana, a cereal grower and retired teacher said farmers like other people, need a break after, especially after the busiest period of planting season. “This a time of the year when there is no much farm work…you know we toil all the year. So, when we get a break we utilise it fully…it also coincides with the time when we are harvesting a lot of sorghum which is used in local beer brewing. It’s not only men who drink, women drink too”. “It is, however, true that some people will continue the drinking even during the busy days of the season,’ he said. “Some also drink themselves silly and engage in violence…but the law is in place. The issue shouldn’t be generalised.”
