Why should bars be open 24/7? 

In Uganda, bars are open 24/7. It is not surprising, therefore, that in 2016, CNN ranked Uganda the eighth most alcoholic nation in the world, in terms of alcoholic consumption, and the first most alcoholic nation in Africa!

On Tuesday, November 8, 2022, Tororo District Woman MP Sarah Opendi, presented ‘The Alcohol Control Bill 2022’ in parliament, a draft bill proposing, amongst other things, that there should be no sale of alcohol before noon (midday) and after 6 am.

This is because in Uganda, people have the freedom to drink alcohol from morning to morning and some drunkards even sleep in bars. Bar-hoppers who drink alcoholic drinks, as a form of escapism, claim it is a ‘stress- killer’ because being intoxicated helps them forget their problems for a while. But what is the point of attending drinking parties if you end up broke and dead?

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) Uganda 2018 road safety report, on average Uganda loses 10 people per day in road traffic accidents, which is the highest level in East Africa. One of the causes is drink driving.

Now, if our traffic police embarked on a rigorous, year-round ‘Don’t Drink and Drive’ campaign, ready to carry out on-the-spot sobriety tests with breathalyzers to test the amount of alcohol in a driver’s blood (this should include boda boda riders) and ask them to ‘Walk the Line’, traffic accidents in Uganda would automatically drop.

Incidentally, the bill also suggests alcohol should not be sold to on-duty law enforcement officers in uniform. Those who are opposed to this bill are maybe clueless, do not care how much alcohol destroys families, or the fact that an alcoholic is not able to hold down a job. Therefore, it makes sense that drinking hours should be restricted so that people drink more responsibly, or better yet become a teetotaller!

High alcoholic rates mean the country has lessened labour productivity, which overall has a negative effect on Gross Domestic Product (GDP). High taxes alone are not enough to restrict alcoholic consumption because people who cannot afford the expensive brands will simply purchase the cheaper gins. If it’s about losing tax revenue, alcohol is not the only taxable commodity in this country—there are many!

During elections, some politicians even buy alcohol for voters in a bid to gain popularity. We live in such a laissez-faire society that in Uganda, it is common practice for a parent to send his or her child to the neighbourhood shop to buy alcohol.

On the other hand, in developed countries that have higher GDPs than ours, the seller will first ask the child for some form of identification to ensure they are not selling alcohol to a minor. But, in Uganda, the seller will sell alcohol to the child even when he or she can see the child is clearly underage.

Therefore, one of the proposals in this bill is that whoever wants to buy alcohol should first present some form of identification (you should be 18 years and above), either a national ID or a passport, before one is allowed to buy.

On February 4, 2023 I was shocked to read Saturday Vision’s front-page headline story, ‘Police Probes Drug Cartels in Schools: Teachers Selling Drugs and Alcohol to Learners.’ What happened to professional ethics?

We would do well to have more educational programs on our television sets. Documentaries teaching the dangers of alcohol abuse would help people sober up fast!

Opendi is currently carrying out consultations with relevant stakeholders to hear their views about her bill. Of course, for fear of a dip in sales, alcoholic beverage manufacturers and bar owners are up in arms about this bill.

Yet, some of the negative long-term effects of alcoholic consumption are: poverty, liver failure, brain damage, memory loss, forgetfulness, hallucinations, blindness and cancer. In fact, alcohol addiction can lead to mental illness and one could end up being admitted as a patient in Butabika National Referral Mental hospital! In extreme cases, people have died from alcohol poisoning.

Proverbs 23:31-35 (NIV) likens alcohol to a serpent, ‘Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things.

You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?”’

For sobriety’s sake, ‘The Alcohol Control Bill 2022’ needs to be enacted into law immediately.

The writer is a concerned citizen