KAMPALA – The Bukimbiri County Legislator, Hon. Eddie Kwizera, has delivered a startling admission, citing addiction to the local alcoholic drink Waragi ‘Akabusanza’ as a major reason for the rising poverty in Kisoro district.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Speaking to the press moments after his swearing-in as the Bukimbiri legislator in the 12th Parliament, Hon. Kwizera described the local Waragi as a standing setback that has reversed years of potential progress.
He explained that many residents have turned the drink into a full-time occupation that steals more than it gives, with a number of people waking up and sitting in drinking dens until night, without any work accomplished.
“Our people have turned Akabusanza into a full-time occupation, but it is an occupation that steals more than it gives. Instead of waking up early to till the land, many of our young men and parents sit in drinking dens from morning until night. The result is clear: poverty is rising,” Hon. Kwizera said.
While the local Waragi ‘Akabusanza’ remains a major income generator for producers in the entire district and across the border in the DRC, Kwizera argues that its consumption is quietly strangling the community’s future.
The lawmaker noted that money which should pay for school fees, medical bills, and food is instead being wasted at local drinking joints, creating a financial drain that fuels domestic violence, child neglect, and broken families in the county.
“A father who drinks away his wages cannot blame the government when his child drops out of school. We must take responsibility. Alcoholism has become a parasite eating into our agricultural productivity,” Kwizera stated.
The MP called on local leaders, religious institutions, and cultural elders to join the fight against alcohol abuse, urging them to model responsible behavior and enforce local bylaws against daytime drinking.
Meanwhile, Hon. Kwizera pledged to oversee a mass distribution of hoes to households across Bukimbiri County, describing agriculture as the only sustainable path to eradicating household poverty.
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