Better An Alcohol-Free Namibia
WHO do we have as ministers in our Namibia? Utoni Nujoma’s remarks picture a man of ignorance or, if that is not the case, a man who uses the lie for political reasons; the reason this time obviously was to deceive the Namibian public.
People everywhere on this planet are the same. And violence is part of every one of them. It does not matter he it is a socialist or a communist or a capitalist, people are the same, period!
Yes, we know that in communist and socialist countries much of what actually happens is suppressed by the state. Nujoma knows well that there is no free media, no free press, never was. Nobody is allowed to report on happenings the state deems not fit for bringing to the attention of its citizens – and the citizen never had the right to question this policy. These poor people have always been in fear of their own governments; their governments were and still are the worst perpetrators of violent actions against them! And that violence comes in many forms!But we know well, and so does Utoni Nujoma, that Russia – I never lived in Cuba, so I am not in a position to report on it – is rotten with alcoholism. Alcoholism is the declared state enemy number one there. The Russians drink to excess to forget their miserable lives – that is the brutal truth. And where alcohol is consumed in that way, there is violence. It could not be different!
Let us not be fooled and deceived by people such as Nujoma and others. We Namibians deserve better than having to listen to such. If we do not act quickly on the sad facts we know, we will have no right to cry foul if our people get raped and violated, again and again. And we have to tackle all the diverse contributors to violence and they are many.
Besides, the highly popular violent movies, alcohol and poverty, which includes hopelessness among other things, have to be tackled by our government and ourselves. It does not really help much if we condemn tobacco and turn our eyes away from the nasty alcohol – that would be insincerity at its best. Alcohol kills more people worldwide each year than all the terrorist attacks together!
As a member of Cabinet this man Utoni Nujoma should fight for an alcohol-free Namibia, he should forget the tax on alcohol; the tax is not worth the misery and sorrow, the crying of mothers, daughters, of the old and frail. I hope he and his peers will understand this – and then we all can discuss the ways to achieve success.
Japheth Hartman
By email