Elections propelled by beer
Elections propelled by beerBy Editor
Friday February 22, 2008 [03:00]
Beer drinking, or rather abuse, is quickly getting out of control in Zambia. The number of people drinking is on the rise. And more and more young people are joining the "beerhalls"- some of them as young as 11, 12 or 13 years old. Therefore, the concerns being raised by Comrade Betty Kaunda deserve urgent and favourable consideration. No one can disagree with Comrade Betty when she says that the country is facing a serious moral decay and reduced life expectancy as a result of excessive beer drinking.
And what is even more worrying is that "our politicians encourage the young people to drink beer especially during campaigns". Truly, this is all wrong, there has to be some sanity, rationality, decency and dignity in our politics.
What type of country is this that calls itself a Christian nation and yet allows drunken youth to determine who should be a councillor, member of parliament or indeed president of the country?
What positive messages, or campaign propaganda can these drunken youth deliver? It is no wonder that we are experiencing so much violence in our election campaigns.
This is simply because the young people, the party cadres that are mobilised to campaign, to sell candidates, are propelled by stomachs and lungs full of alcohol, which end up in the brain, producing nothing but violence and other by-products of drunken behaviour.
The sad thing is that all this beer, all this drinking and indeed the bad or anti-social behaviour that accompanies it is sponsored, is paid for by our politicians who are seeking our votes. What type of leadership can one really expect from such people, people who intoxicate youths so that they can do all sorts of crazy things on their behalf?
And contrast this with the attitude of those who struggled for our independence. In June of 1962, during a debate in the Northern Rhodesia Legislative Assembly, one of the few African members made a prediction: " I think as soon as we have an African government in this country, beerhalls will be the first thing it will hit at." (Job Michelo, proceedings of the Northern Rhodesia Legislative Council (NRLC), 18 June, 1962, para. 804).
It may seem unusual that, in the midst of a bitter and violent racial and inter-party contest for the political destiny of this territory, a prominent African politician could suggest that changing liquor laws would be the first order of business of a future African government.
There's urgent need to reexamine our laws and see how they can be changed to protect our children from the dangers of alcohol. But how are we going to achieve this with members of parliament whose electoral victories were propelled by drums and drums of Chibuku, kachasu and some other barrels of alcoholic drinks?
This is the moral dilemma we face when as a nation we allow very important values to be abandoned, to be negated in this way. This is what happens in a nation when morals and ideals are lost.
This is the consequence of not having a principled approach to politics and public life in general. This is the result when expedience completely takes over the politics of a country and when everything can be sacrificed on the altar of political expedience.
Instead of promising our young people a future that will provide them jobs, that will better their educational and health facilities, all they are promising them is: "Join my campaign trail and I will make you high on alcohol." These youngsters need help.
They are already in a helpless situation and to further destroy them with alcohol is being very cruel and insensitive.
Moreover, no politician should be fit to be elected to our Parliament if they don't understand the consequences drinking has on our youngsters. Many researches have proved that people who drink heavily in their youth may have a higher risk of developing a collection of risk factors for heart disease and stroke.
Those who drink heavily in their teens and young adulthood are more likely to have metabolic syndrome than those who don't drink.
In case we are using words that may make us seem too knowledgeable and complicated when we are merely simple journalists, metabolic syndrome refers to a combination of risk factors for heart disease, stroke and diabetes - including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and so on and so forth. People who have three or more of these problems are considered to have metabolic syndrome.
There are already many reasons for encouraging young people to avoid heavy drinking and our politicians should join hands with parents, teachers and other civic leaders to discourage young people from drinking instead of driving them to the slaughter house, to the abattoir just to win elections.
Adolescents who begin drinking at a very early age are more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who begin much later in their lives. And an early age of drinking onset is also associated with alcohol-related violence not only among persons under 21 but among adults as well. It is criminal to add more to the problems of our young people when many of them already have serious drinking problems that they cannot manage on their own.
And while drinking may be a singular problem behaviour for some, for others it may be an expression of general adolescent turmoil that includes other problem behaviours.
These behaviours may be linked to unconventionality, impulsiveness, and sensation-seeking. Dependent on alcohol is also associated with several psychiatric problems such as depression, anxiety, oppositional defiant disorder, anti-social personality disorder.
Why should our politicians compound all these problems by encouraging reckless drinking at their election campaigns?
It is time our politicians recognise the fact that we have in the country a drinking problem that needs to be urgently remedied. There is need to look at all our legislation concerning the brewing, selling and consumption of alcohol. Delayed action on this front may prove too costly for the nation in the not-far-away future.
We cannot afford to waste away our youths, our young people in such a reckless manner. Our young people constitute the most valuable resource of our country and it is on them that the progress of this country will totally depend more than on anything else.
Let's take care of them in the best way possible. Let's nurture them for a future that appears so complicated and sombre.
Labels: BEER, BY-ELECTIONS, CADRES
posted by MrK @ 6:38 PM
2 Comments:
Oppositional defiant disorder?
Is talking back a syndrome now? :)
I admire The Post's plea for sobriety, but these are the same things people say about drugs.
As a civil libertarian, I think people should be able to be as intoxicated as they want to be, on the substance of their choice. As long as they don't bother anyone else with it. That is personal responsibility, and the limit of personal freedom.
What the issue of beer is really masking, is poverty, unemployment, and a political system that uses both when it is time to collect votes.
The thing that i noticed when staying in Lusaka was the Price of Alchohol and Smokes.
I pay $11AU for packet of smokes here and i paid $1.90AU for a packet in Kabwata.
The govt must introduce higher taxes on smokes.
I went to Shoprite and got a bottle of whiskey for $6AU and here i would pay $24AU for the same bottle.
Once again taxes again are the reason.
These 2 taxes are a way the govt can try and slow down growth of sales in these industries.
My comment on the fighting between cadres during kanyama election is basically this...
"Ban Cadres"
Its just Tribe against Tribe.
(Gang Mentality)
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