23 Jan 2020

Maun East MP, Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile has advised residents of Shorobe and its catchment areas to instill discipline among their children to curb escalating social ills.

Addressing a kgotla meeting at Shorobe recently, the MP decried misconduct amongst young people, saying the growing number of suicides, passion killings and murder were worrisome in the area.

The incidents, he said, were associated with sour relationships and urged parents to intervene and instill deteriorating social morals among young people.

He said it was disturbing that some young men resolved to kill their partners when they wanted to end relationships, adding that killing was not a solution but caused pain and sorrow to the affected communities.

MP Kekgonegile noted that they recently buried two young people who were killed by their partners. 

“This development is disheartening as it mostly involves the use of violence on victims. I urge young people involved in love affairs to respect others’ decisions and learn to cope with the situation even if it was unbearable.”

He said people should understand that life had many challenges which they should find meaningful ways to resolve with death not being an option.

The area MP also urged young people to seek help from relevant authorities like churches, leaders, social workers and psychologists.

He also advised young people to refrain from contaminative friendships which lured them to engage in criminal activities.

Mr Kekgonegile advised parents to encourage children to live positive, responsible lives and to avoid becoming perpetrators of criminal activities as they attracted heavy prison sentences which may impact on their future.

Parents were also encouraged to provide parental guidance to children and to create a friendly environment so that they could be open to discuss and share critical issues affecting their lives.

The area MP also decried incidents of criminal activities such as theft, stating that some parents were entertaining the incidents as they received stolen goods from their children.

He said parents should refrain from that practice and learn to question their children when they brought home goods as they knew that they were not working.

On other issues, Mr Kekgonegile noted that unemployment amongst young people was a concern and advised them to group themselves and be prepared to apply for concessions as government has promised that some concessions would be allocated to communities.

Earlier on, Kgosi Molatedi Dingalo of Shorobe complained about young people idling in the village. He also talked about the village being hard hit by the drought .

Kgosi Dingalo said residents depended on farming but that due to the drought and low rainfall, their efforts hit a snag.

He also decried shortage of accommodation for public servants, noting that the Village Development Committee was overwhelmed and failing to meet the demand.

Other challenges he mentioned include shortage of resources for police officers such as vehicles to attend to incidents, which resulted in the community complaining that the police were failing them. He called on government to assist them with transport.

He said the police were covering a vast area up to the Okavango Delta and could not accomplish their duties without transport.

Office space at tribal administration also concerned Kgosi Dingalo, saying there was no privacy as they shared offices. ENDS