Chief Shakumbila cautions subjects on early marriages.

Senior Chief Shakumbila of the Saala people of Mumbwa district has cautioned his subjects against forcing their children into early marriages.

Chief Shakumbila said anyone forcing their children into early marriages will be reported to relevant authorities so that they are prosecuted.

He said the communities were being sensitised through village headmen on the importance of education and dangers of early marriages.

The traditional leader explained that a sensitisation exercise on early marriages was being conducted and that people were becoming aware of the consequence of early marriages.

Chief Shakumbila said it was important that every child be educated in order to have a better tomorrow.

He said some families opted to marry off their daughters to get dowry and use the money to purchase cattle.

Chief Shakumbila said the problem of early marriages had also affected boys.

The Chief said there was need to address the issue on both girls and boys as the trend was also rampant among boys who were marrying at a tender age as the program focused on girls.

Meanwhile, Chief Shakumbila has bemoaned the delay in distribution of farming inputs in his chiefdom.

He said the farming season had started on a good note despite the delay in the distribution of inputs.

Chief Shakumbila has since appealed to government to start distributing farming inputs in September so that they get to farmers on time.

He called for an upward adjustment of the floor price for agricultural products this year as the price for fertiliser had shot up.