04 Jul 2017

Kgosi Gabriel Ntau of Maleshe says budding female spinsters should first know the stand of potential male partners before committing themselves.

Speaking at a workshop organised by Ministers Fraternal- Kgalagadi South recently meant to interrogate the role of man in the church and the community, Kgosi Ntau said cases of single parenthood could be avoided if only females could be cautioned against having children with men they hardly knew. 

Kgosi Ntau said young schooling teenagers even in his tiny village of Maleshe were slowly destroying their teenagehood by involving themselves in acts designated for adults. 

“Young females are more concerned about sexual acts these days. That wasn’t the case in the past because young girls knew the importance of preserving themselves for a suitor,” said Kgosi Ntau. 

He underscored that instead of chasing after men, young girls should rather allocate their precious time to studies, adding that learning not only paved a better future and sense of independence for the girl child, but also delayed involvement in sexual activities which often resulted in unplanned pregnancies. 

On absent fathers, Kgosi Ntau suggested that Batswana should retrace their steps and bring old customs and traditions back to use.

He said it was rare to hear of fathers who dumped their fatherly responsibilities.

“When a woman was in a stage of confinement  during my younger years, the father in question was restricted to wander around aimlessly. This was to prevent instances of men indulging in casual relationships to pass time,” he said. 

Earlier on, social worker at Tsabong Primary Hospital, Ms Teko Mokoto informed the gathering that cases of absent fathers was a major concern in Kgalagadi. 

She stressed that the status quo was damaging to children because they (children) needed the presence of a fatherly figure in their upbringing to grow up as responsible and morally upright individuals. 

Ms Mokoto said fathers were there to provide comfort, security and care to their respective families, adding that the absence of such as figure affected a child psychologically in the long run. 

The child welfare official also noted that separation of parents did not afford males the chance to build ties with their children. 

She stated with concern that she often came across cases in which fathers refused to take care of their children simply because they had separated with their partners. 

Officer Commanding for District No 9, Mr Sonnyboy Motswiri said absent parenting denied the country the opportunity to enjoy the perks of finer talents and intellectual prowess often possessed by affected children.

 He noted that  some children who were not raised under proper parental supervision exhibited traces of intelligence which could have been nurtured from an early stage by both parents. 

Mr Motswiri , however encouraged single mothers to inform enquiring children about their fathers’ whereabouts and identity  from an early age to deter future calamity. 

For his part, Mr Boago Mpuang urged parents to raise  children according to the laws of the Lord. He also stated that Christian pastors nowadays were wasting time on infightings rather than concentrating their efforts in rebuilding families and communities. 

The one day workshop was conducted under the theme: The role of a man in the church and community. 

The discussions focused on marriage and social welfare, the latter topic resulting in participants scrutinising the recent trend of fatherly absenteeism. ENDS