04 Oct 2022

Adults have been warned against selling drugs to children as doing so could destroy their lives.

The warning was sounded by Maun West   Member of Parliament, Mr Dumelang Saleshando when responding to comments raised by Boyei Village Development Committee chairperson, Ms Onneile Motswakgosing during a kgotla meeting at Boyeyi ward in Maun  recently.

Ms Motswakgosing had complained that drug abuse and consumption was rampant in their area. 

She said the situation resulted in truancy and abuse of parents by children when under the influence of drugs. 

She added that some adults exacerbated the situation by selling drugs to children.

Mr Saleshando concurred that consumption of drugs and substance abuse were rampant in Maun and urged parents to allow children to focus on their studies in order to have bright futures.

He urged parents to create supportive and nurturing environments for children so that they could make better decisions. 

He said maintaining strong relationships with their children was key as they could openly discuss the risks of using alcohol and drugs.

The MP also said that he once engaged one of the school heads, who complained about the rampant usage of drugs in schools. 

Mr Saleshando said that the school head also revealed that learners also carried dangerous instruments such as knives, to schools.

He appealed to parents to join forces with other stakeholders to fight alcohol and drug consumption amongst children, monitor and report any suspicious behaviour of children. 

“It is important to identify the root cause and come up with interventions and I urge you as parents to protect your children and stop destroying their lives. You should play your role in enhancing discipline among your children,” he added. 

He said it was a pity as pupils  used illicit drugs and substances which could increase the risk of mental disorders.

Mr Saleshando also expressed concern about the high number of mentally disturbed persons in Maun, noting that he once engaged a certain psychologist who associated the problem with drug and substance abuse.

On other issues, he informed the gathering that funding for Community Constituency Programme (CCP) had just been released. 

The MP revealed that a decision had been taken to channel the bulk of the money towards the education, looking at the poor performance of most schools. 

He expressed hope that investing in education would bring positive results. 

The funding, he said would be used to construct information technology (IT) laboratories and screen walls to improve security.

Earlier, some residents had called for a satellite police in their ward to curb escalating crime such as alcohol and drug abuse, rape and theft, among others. 

They complained that such ills posed a threat to the society, saying having a satellite office near could improve police response time.

One of the residents, Mr Olebeng Gubago called for the reinstatement of corporal punishment to curb social ills. 

He said some parents were afraid to reprimand their children as the children threatened them with violence.  Ends