Youngsters of today have some MPs tugging at their grey hairs

SOME lawmakers are finding it hard to pinpoint problems and find solutions to what they perceive as a lack of morality in the country, especially among young people.

In her contribution in the National Assembly on Wednesday, CoD Vice President Nora Schimming-Chase said a motion – tabled by Swapo backbencher Peya Mushelenga last week – demanded that lawmakers lead by example in demonstrating the same respect that they were demanding from the youth out there. “As we debate the lack of respect shown by our youth towards their elders, let us remove the log in our own eyes before we look for it in the youth.Respect starts at home and then in the community,” Schimming-Chase stated.”As a young person who grew up at the Old Location in Windhoek, I joined my elders in the home, at church, and at family gatherings.My respect for my elders grew as I experienced their hard work under a brutal apartheid system, with contract labour, poor salaries, no social security or pension scheme, and yet they did not resort to misappropriating monies that were not theirs,” the CoD leader told the House.”Yet they saw to it that we went to school, illiterate as they may have been, they saw to it that homework was done.They were poor and oppressed, but they were honest and hardworking.”In all my youth, I never heard of a father raping his daughter, marital squabbles were settled in the parental bedroom; divorces were dealt with quietly within the extended families,” she added.Thieves were sent to jail, she never saw a poor family become millionaires overnight and she did not have access to pornographic TV programmes.”I did not hear of parents abusing babies and killing them, or children physically abusing their parents or killing them.I am not saying that there were no social evils, [but] if there were, we were protected from them,” she said.”Above all, we had a cause, we fought for and believed in freedom – one day; we knew that if you studied hard, you would get work.”WHAT EXAMPLE DO ELDERS SET? Namibians had to look at what examples they were setting for their children, she said.Young people of today were expected to respect their teachers – the same teachers who impregnated young girls.The youth were expected to respect their elders, some of whom socialised with them in nightclubs and shebeens or even owned such bars.”Young girls fall victim to the sugar daddies, whom they are expected to respect.Young teen boys become victims to sugar mommies,” the CoD politician said.”The young ones see and read about rape, domestic violence and murder perpetrated by those whom they are supposed to respect.They read about the divorce cases and adultery committed by their elders, sometimes children read about the wrongdoings of their own parents in the newspaper and get mocked by peers at school, which is embarrassing for them.”Young Namibians further saw their elders become millionaires overnight out of the blue and learned that crime did indeed pay for the rich.THE RISE OF THE WABENZI “Those who steal millions go scot-free whilst the poor hungry youth who steals a goat gets 20 years in prison,” Schimming-Chase pointed out.The youth saw how Permanent Secretaries failed to account for the millions paid out as travel allowances to civil servants and yet nothing happened to them, showing that inefficiency was rewarded.The youth had access to pornographic films shown by television companies in which leaders were shareholders, she added.”Societal norms and standards have been changed by us and the youth fall victim to these excesses.What future have we created for the youth; indeed what behaviour do we model, what do we do with the dropouts, the criminals, the unemployed or what can the youth of today look forward to?” she asked the House.Leaders had to also see positive characteristics among the youth, as there were those who worked voluntarily for churches and charity, or young entrepreneurs who started their own businesses without having access to the millions made available to the previously disadvantaged.Worthy causes like the Girl Child Project needed support and young people who visited AIDS orphans deserved praise, she said.”Pressures of modern society are on our youth, and this is a worldwide phenomenon, but let us allow the youth to be part of the solution and not only the problem,” Schimming-Chase urged.’DON’T GIVE ME LIP’ Members of Parliament should show respect for the elderly according to Article 95 (f) of the Constitution, which stipulated that the State and not the unemployed youth should give “assurance that senior citizens are entitled to and do receive a regular pension adequate for the maintenance of a decent standard of living.”The monthly State pension of N$370 was not enough, she added.Schimming-Chase proposed that pensioners should be exempted from paying 15 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT).Deputy Labour Minister Petrus Ilonga emphasised that discipline was a crucial element in bringing up children, and complained that youngsters answered grown-ups back and acted disrespectfully.”As we debate the lack of respect shown by our youth towards their elders, let us remove the log in our own eyes before we look for it in the youth.Respect starts at home and then in the community,” Schimming-Chase stated.”As a young person who grew up at the Old Location in Windhoek, I joined my elders in the home, at church, and at family gatherings.My respect for my elders grew as I experienced their hard work under a brutal apartheid system, with contract labour, poor salaries, no social security or pension scheme, and yet they did not resort to misappropriating monies that were not theirs,” the CoD leader told the House.”Yet they saw to it that we went to school, illiterate as they may have been, they saw to it that homework was done.They were poor and oppressed, but they were honest and hardworking.”In all my youth, I never heard of a father raping his daughter, marital squabbles were settled in the parental bedroom; divorces were dealt with quietly within the extended families,” she added.Thieves were sent to jail, she never saw a poor family become millionaires overnight and she did not have access to pornographic TV programmes.”I did not hear of parents abusing babies and killing them, or children physically abusing their parents or killing them.I am not saying that there were no social evils, [but] if there were, we were protected from them,” she said.”Above all, we had a cause, we fought for and believed in freedom – one day; we knew that if you studied hard, you would get work.” WHAT EXAMPLE DO ELDERS SET? Namibians had to look at what examples they were setting for their children, she said.Young people of today were expected to respect their teachers – the same teachers who impregnated young girls.The youth were expected to respect their elders, some of whom socialised with them in nightclubs and shebeens or even owned such bars.”Young girls fall victim to the sugar daddies, whom they are expected to respect.Young teen boys become victims to sugar mommies,” the CoD politician said.”The young ones see and read about rape, domestic violence and murder perpetrated by those whom they are supposed to respect.They read about the divorce cases and adultery committed by their elders, sometimes children read about the wrongdoings of their own parents in the newspaper and get mocked by peers at school, which is embarrassing for them.”Young Namibians further saw their elders become millionaires overnight out of the blue and learned that crime did indeed pay for the rich. THE RISE OF THE WABENZI “Those who steal millions go scot-free whilst the poor hungry youth who steals a goat gets 20 years in prison,” Schimming-Chase pointed out.The youth saw how Permanent Secretaries failed to account for the millions paid out as travel allowances to civil servants and yet nothing happened to them, showing that inefficiency was rewarded.The youth had access to pornographic films shown by television companies in which leaders were shareholders, she added.”Societal norms and standards have been changed by us and the youth fall victim to these excesses
.What future have we created for the youth; indeed what behaviour do we model, what do we do with the dropouts, the criminals, the unemployed or what can the youth of today look forward to?” she asked the House.Leaders had to also see positive characteristics among the youth, as there were those who worked voluntarily for churches and charity, or young entrepreneurs who started their own businesses without having access to the millions made available to the previously disadvantaged.Worthy causes like the Girl Child Project needed support and young people who visited AIDS orphans deserved praise, she said.”Pressures of modern society are on our youth, and this is a worldwide phenomenon, but let us allow the youth to be part of the solution and not only the problem,” Schimming-Chase urged.’DON’T GIVE ME LIP’ Members of Parliament should show respect for the elderly according to Article 95 (f) of the Constitution, which stipulated that the State and not the unemployed youth should give “assurance that senior citizens are entitled to and do receive a regular pension adequate for the maintenance of a decent standard of living.”The monthly State pension of N$370 was not enough, she added.Schimming-Chase proposed that pensioners should be exempted from paying 15 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT).Deputy Labour Minister Petrus Ilonga emphasised that discipline was a crucial element in bringing up children, and complained that youngsters answered grown-ups back and acted disrespectfully.