Nujoma lashes out at drunkards, shebeeners

SWAPO President Sam Nujoma says Vision 2030 cannot be implemented by a nation of drunkards and people who promote drunkenness “like those demonstrating outside the Parliament building”.

Addressing Swapo leaders from the Khomas Region in Windhoek on Saturday, Nujoma rejected the call by the shebeen owners that they be allowed to operate illegally. Nujoma said they had acted irresponsibly by camping in front of a national symbol, and by slaughtering a cow while there was an outbreak of polio in the country.He said polio could be prevented through proper hygiene yet the shebeen owners had shown a blatant disrespect for laws, compromising efforts to fight the disease.”Vision 2030 cannot be implemented by drunkards or people who promote drunkenness like those demonstrating outside the Parliament building.They are supposed to have licences.There are laws and ordinances governing every town.Even in rural areas we have kings and queens.If you are singing around the whole night, surely the king will arrest you.You will be punished,” Nujoma said.He said development could only take place where there was peace and stability and those disrespecting the laws must stop.Nujoma said shebeens were a disturbance as children, the future leaders of the country, did not get enough sleep and ended up sleeping during classes instead of concentrating on their education.He called Swapo member and medical doctor Bjorn von Finckenstein to the stage to explain the importance of proper hygiene and how polio could be prevented.Von Finckenstein’s message was translated into Oshiwambo, Damara-Nama and Herero.At the end of last week, Cabinet said diversification to other small and medium enterprises with active Government assistance had to be considered as an alternative to shebeens.”The Cabinet committee on overall policy and priorities met and noted that while economic benefits are derived from shebeen operations, given the high unemployment rate in the country, alcohol consumption has a number of negative consequences, including health problems such as increased HIV-AIDS, crime promotion, alcohol addiction, noise pollution and other negative effects,” Cabinet said.The negative effects of alcohol put pressure on Government in that the Police budget had to be increased annually to fight crime, the Health Ministry had to treat more victims of alcohol abuse and the number of orphans increased due to deaths related to HIV-AIDS and child neglect.”The Government is, therefore, forced to consider the negative consequences of alcohol abuse through the mushrooming of shebeens against the advantages of employment creation and income generation of shebeens,” the statement said.Last week Prime Minister Nahas Angula asked protesting shebeen owners to give Government three weeks to review the Liquor Act of 1998 and come up with “workable” and “practical” solutions for its implementation.About 70 shebeen owners camped outside the Parliament building last week.They are incensed over a recent Police crackdown on illegal shebeens, the confiscation of their goods and closure of their businesses.Nujoma said they had acted irresponsibly by camping in front of a national symbol, and by slaughtering a cow while there was an outbreak of polio in the country.He said polio could be prevented through proper hygiene yet the shebeen owners had shown a blatant disrespect for laws, compromising efforts to fight the disease.”Vision 2030 cannot be implemented by drunkards or people who promote drunkenness like those demonstrating outside the Parliament building.They are supposed to have licences.There are laws and ordinances governing every town.Even in rural areas we have kings and queens.If you are singing around the whole night, surely the king will arrest you.You will be punished,” Nujoma said.He said development could only take place where there was peace and stability and those disrespecting the laws must stop.Nujoma said shebeens were a disturbance as children, the future leaders of the country, did not get enough sleep and ended up sleeping during classes instead of concentrating on their education.He called Swapo member and medical doctor Bjorn von Finckenstein to the stage to explain the importance of proper hygiene and how polio could be prevented.Von Finckenstein’s message was translated into Oshiwambo, Damara-Nama and Herero.At the end of last week, Cabinet said diversification to other small and medium enterprises with active Government assistance had to be considered as an alternative to shebeens.”The Cabinet committee on overall policy and priorities met and noted that while economic benefits are derived from shebeen operations, given the high unemployment rate in the country, alcohol consumption has a number of negative consequences, including health problems such as increased HIV-AIDS, crime promotion, alcohol addiction, noise pollution and other negative effects,” Cabinet said.The negative effects of alcohol put pressure on Government in that the Police budget had to be increased annually to fight crime, the Health Ministry had to treat more victims of alcohol abuse and the number of orphans increased due to deaths related to HIV-AIDS and child neglect.”The Government is, therefore, forced to consider the negative consequences of alcohol abuse through the mushrooming of shebeens against the advantages of employment creation and income generation of shebeens,” the statement said.Last week Prime Minister Nahas Angula asked protesting shebeen owners to give Government three weeks to review the Liquor Act of 1998 and come up with “workable” and “practical” solutions for its implementation.About 70 shebeen owners camped outside the Parliament building last week.They are incensed over a recent Police crackdown on illegal shebeens, the confiscation of their goods and closure of their businesses.