Political Perspective

IF we are happy to put up with second best at all levels of society, then we can never make progress. We cannot afford to relax standards, whether they be in our schools, the workplace, universities and more importantly, in our homes.

It is absolutely incumbent on all Namibians to set ourselves the highest standards in order to achieve excellence and high quality across the board. And there are a number of things that are within our grasp to try and do and improve on in order to set ourselves on the right path.ONE of the things we can tackle immediately is alcohol abuse, and Bishop Zephania Kameeta set the right tone in this regard by emphasising that a nation of drunkards will not accomplish its goals.Speaking earlier this week after a church-organised protest against the mushrooming of shebeens at Keetmanshoop, Kameeta rightly stated that spiritual leaders were “deeply concerned about the evident decay of moral fibre in our communities caused by the mushrooming of shebeens and alcohol abuse”.And like it or not, it is a fact that alcohol abuse is a problem from the far reaches of northern Namibia to the deep south and from west to east.Bottle stores and shebeens have proliferated all over, as Kameeta pointed out, and we continue to tread lightly in the licensing of these places as we tend to justify them as being essential to the economic wellbeing of communities and the individuals who are running them.One would surely hope that entrepreneurial skills could be better deployed in areas other than places which sell alcohol.There are so many other small business ideas that could and should take root and grow in communities and give them something more than just streets filled with shebeens, illicit or otherwise! National campaigns against drunk driving are almost completely nullified by our tacit acceptance that it is OK for everyone to drink alcohol, and more often than not, excessively.Equally anti-alcohol campaigns targeting our youth are futile when their elders are more often than not are setting the example that it is acceptable behaviour.Alcohol abuse manifests itself in corrupting the moral backbone of a nation.There is a great deal of work absenteeism as a result; there is increased domestic violence, more often than not, fuelled by intoxication; alcohol abuse underpins so much of the crimes that take place in our society; it leads inevitably to unprotected sex and thereby undermines the effect of HIV-AIDS campaigners to make a dent in our high prevalence statistics, among others.If we could achieve even a small measure of success in curbing alcohol abuse, I am convinced that this in turn would have immediate positive effect on creating instead, vital national characteristics such as a strong work ethic.The campaign in Keetmanshoop needs to be taken further afield if it is to have any impact.It is not only about closing illegal shebeens, or banning the presence of alcohol retail outlets near schools, churches and community centres.As long as Namibians have a proclivity for alcohol abuse, these places will continue to mushroom.If people drank less, then those shebeen owners would have to think more creatively as to how to make money, and with less destructive outcome.Perhaps relevant Ministries, even the private sector, could join hands with churches to try to educate small business people and offer creative alternatives to opening a shebeen.Because unless we tackle the problem at root, we’re not going to change anything simply by limiting the number of retail outlets.Prohibition is never the key, and so I would not suggest an alcohol ban, for it has been proved in cases where it has been enforced, to have completely the opposite effect.There has to be a fundamental change among our people to dispense with excessive intake of alcohol, and for people to regard it as a disgrace to overdo it, rather than laugh it off, as many do, as a ‘national sport’.Society would immediately benefit if we could get a grip on what is a huge problem.Much of the abuse takes place in families which can ill-afford to have their meagre monthly income go towards the purchase of alcohol and added to the poverty factor, the social ills that often accompany over-indulgence.At all levels we need to take a new approach.It is de rigeur to offer alcohol at most social functions and there is no reason why this cannot change, for example.It would be too simplistic to argue that if our per capita alcohol consumption decreased, that this would mean instant success for our nation.But it would certainly go a long way towards addressing the other problems that dog us in our pursuit of the good society.And there are a number of things that are within our grasp to try and do and improve on in order to set ourselves on the right path.ONE of the things we can tackle immediately is alcohol abuse, and Bishop Zephania Kameeta set the right tone in this regard by emphasising that a nation of drunkards will not accomplish its goals.Speaking earlier this week after a church-organised protest against the mushrooming of shebeens at Keetmanshoop, Kameeta rightly stated that spiritual leaders were “deeply concerned about the evident decay of moral fibre in our communities caused by the mushrooming of shebeens and alcohol abuse”.And like it or not, it is a fact that alcohol abuse is a problem from the far reaches of northern Namibia to the deep south and from west to east.Bottle stores and shebeens have proliferated all over, as Kameeta pointed out, and we continue to tread lightly in the licensing of these places as we tend to justify them as being essential to the economic wellbeing of communities and the individuals who are running them.One would surely hope that entrepreneurial skills could be better deployed in areas other than places which sell alcohol.There are so many other small business ideas that could and should take root and grow in communities and give them something more than just streets filled with shebeens, illicit or otherwise! National campaigns against drunk driving are almost completely nullified by our tacit acceptance that it is OK for everyone to drink alcohol, and more often than not, excessively.Equally anti-alcohol campaigns targeting our youth are futile when their elders are more often than not are setting the example that it is acceptable behaviour.Alcohol abuse manifests itself in corrupting the moral backbone of a nation.There is a great deal of work absenteeism as a result; there is increased domestic violence, more often than not, fuelled by intoxication; alcohol abuse underpins so much of the crimes that take place in our society; it leads inevitably to unprotected sex and thereby undermines the effect of HIV-AIDS campaigners to make a dent in our high prevalence statistics, among others.If we could achieve even a small measure of success in curbing alcohol abuse, I am convinced that this in turn would have immediate positive effect on creating instead, vital national characteristics such as a strong work ethic.The campaign in Keetmanshoop needs to be taken further afield if it is to have any impact.It is not only about closing illegal shebeens, or banning the presence of alcohol retail outlets near schools, churches and community centres.As long as Namibians have a proclivity for alcohol abuse, these places will continue to mushroom.If people drank less, then those shebeen owners would have to think more creatively as to how to make money, and with less destructive outcome.Perhaps relevant Ministries, even the private sector, could join hands with churches to try to educate small business people and offer creative alternatives to opening a shebeen.Because unless we tackle the problem at root, we’re not going to change anything simply by limiting the number of retail outlets.Prohibition is never the key, and so I would not suggest an alcohol ban, for it has been proved in cases where it has been enforced, to have completely the opposite effect.There has to be a fundamental change among our people to dispense with excessive intake of alcohol, and for people to regard it as a disgrace to overdo it, rather than laugh it off, as many do, as a ‘national sport’.Society would immediately benefit if we could get a grip on what is a huge problem.Much of the abuse takes place in families which can ill-afford to have their meagre monthly income go towards the purchase of alcohol and added to the poverty factor, the social ills that often accompany over-indulgence.At all levels we need to take a new approach.It is de rigeur to offer alcohol at most social functions and there is no reason why this cannot change, for example.It would be too simplistic to argue that if our per capita alcohol consumption decreased, that this would mean instant success for our nation.But it would certainly go a long way towards addressing the other problems that dog us in our pursuit of the good society.