16 Dec 2014

Ministry of Health has funded the Francistown True Men Trust to the tune of P1 million to spearhead a campaign against alcohol abuse.

Briefing the stakeholder workshop on anti-alcohol campaign in Francistown recently, the trust coordinator, Mr Kabo Moseki said the funds were taken from the Alcohol Levy Fund.

The workshop, which brought together stakeholders, amongst them dikgosi from Francistown and its outskirts, government officials and the media was intended to share ideas and resolution on how alcohol abuse could be fought.

Mr Moseki called on the community to support the campaign, adding that the out-reach programme to villages such as Tati Siding, Tonota, Chadibe and Mathangwane to spread the message was ongoing.

He stressed that alcohol abuse affects both individuals and their families, outlining that research had shown that Botswana was one country that had been hit by alcohol abuse. Mr Moseki noted that alcohol had a high dependency rate, which made it hard for families of addicted breadwinners.

He said high road accidents rates, social ills such as rape, theft and common assault were all associated with alcohol abuse.  Monarch Customary Court president, Kgosi Gunny Moses said many Batswana had found a niche in the bar operating business hence the abuse of alcohol. 

 He said it was difficult to combat alcohol abuse, adding that the government should limit allocating bar licenses.

Kgosi Moses stated that family structures should be revived in order to assist in fighting alcohol abuse, arguing that there was vast family decay, which disabled the parent’s cooperation on the battle against the abuse. He also stated that some women had abandoned their roles and were drinking more than their male counterparts.

Furthermore, an official from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and culture in Francistown, Mr Joseph Goememang said their mandate was to assist the youth through counseling and in setting up business projects and proposals so that they could  use government initiatives such as Youth Development Fund (YDF).

He said it was disheartening to see the youth projects collapsing at an alarming rate, when government expects such projects to add value to the economy.  Mr Goememang said some youth projects failed because they used their profits on alcohol. ENDS