Teenage binge-drinking on the rise in Bulawayo

Teenage binge-drinking among Bulawayo's teens has reached alarming levels, amid concerns of moral decay and city fathers have resolved to debate on the matter at a full council meeting.

Bulawayo Mayor Councillor Martin Moyo said they have noted with concern the manner in which teens were conducting themselves saying they contribute to the high noise levels and other related disturbances in the central business district, especially on weekends.

"The Housing and Community services and Social Welfare will investigate this development as a matter of urgency, as this issues cannot be ignored because it has a bearing on society as a whole," said Clr Moyo.

The mayor's concerns come in the wake of a plethora of illicit house parties hosted by youths, who in most cases are aged as young as 13 years of age in the affluent suburbs of Bulawayo.

The teens organise house parties on the social networking platforms such as Facebook, Whatsapp, Viber and Mxit.

One has to visit the city centre on a Saturday and witness the multitude of visibly drunk teenagers dressed in trendy clothes,milling around the pick up centre.

They will be carrying with them boxes of expensive alcoholic beverages such as Johnnie Walker, Jack Daniels, Viceroy, Jameson and ciders for consumption at these parties.

Young girls "twerk" the night away, while the boys watched intimately every piece of action.

Twerking is the latest dance craze which comprises of explicit gyrations.

It is a mystery where the teenagers, most of them who are still at school, get the money to host the parties and buy the expensive alcohol and whether they get permission from their parents and guardians to host these parties.

However, indications point to the fact that some of the parties are held in properties where the owners are living in the diaspora and the properties are in the care of the children or relatives.

These parties have also provided  drug pedlars with a ready market.