Protect children from alcohol

By Newsday | Dec. 28, 2023 | 3 Min read

Have we become so immoral that we sell beer to anyone regardless of age?

A video of intoxicated underage children from Harare’s Mbare high-density suburb reflects how broken we have become as a society.

In the video, the underage children are seen inebriated and drinking in public, unmoved by what onlookers were saying.

Onlookers just watch with some enjoying the “spectacle”. For others, like a woman who is seen negotiating her way past the drunk children, it is “none of their business” or “they have no dog in the fight” as they continue with their business in the central business district.

Thanks to the one who shot the video and made it viral, citizens now know that there are some shops or bars that sell beer to underage children.

What happened to the no under 18 stickers that are usually plastered on the refrigerators with alcohol in supermarkets? Are the retailers now blinded by the profit motive to the point of throwing caution to the wind?

The sprouting of alcohol retailers has complicated the fight against alcohol abuse. Alcohol is being sold from car boots and no one regulates that business.

This should be a time for soul-searching on the best way forward.

Have we become so immoral that we sell beer to anyone regardless of age? Would you have folded your arms if someone sold alcohol to your underage child?

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Have we lost our moral compass as a nation such that we don’t value children, who are the future?

These are some of the questions that need answers as we engage in various fora.

What this episode has shown is that parental guidance is missing in families at a time when Zimbabwe has recorded a surge in drug and substance abuse among the youths.

Have parents become so busy that they don’t know where their children are, especially during the festive season where merrymaking will be high in families?

Is it because of social media that we no longer have family time such that parents and children will be glued to their phones and no one cares where the other party has gone?

This comes when Zimbabwe is seized with the fight against drug and substance abuse among the youths.

In the period October 30 to November 23, the government reported that the fight against drug and substance abuse had intensified and the dragnet netted 1 559 people, comprising 112 suppliers and 1 447 end-users.

This was up from 1 165 arrests last reported.

A total of nine hotspot areas were identified, while nine bases were destroyed in Harare and Beitbridge, with ZWL$352 528 150 worth of drugs confiscated.

A total of 30 drug suppliers were convicted, bringing the cumulative convictions since January 2023 to 809. Cabinet agreed that all drug suppliers should not be given the option of a fine but go to court to ensure stiffer penalties are meted out.

With the national campaign against drug and substance abuse intensifying, we believe the latest episode in which underage children are filmed drinking alcohol is a fresh setback to the exercise.

We are glad that the police have launched an investigation with national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi telling NewsDay that: “We are aware of the video being circulated and for now, investigations are in progress.”

They should leave no stone unturned in their investigations and establish the source of that alcohol.

The person who sold the alcohol must be caged as there is a rule that says no alcohol is sold to persons below 18 years. Some of the children on the video are hardly 10 and no one would mistake them for 18-year-olds.

It cannot be business as usual when the country’s future is being destroyed.