NAMIBIA: Swapo Elders Disurbed By Moral Decay

WINDHOECK, Namibia (New Era), February 15, 2008: By Anna Shilongo, Windhoek The Swapo Party Elders Council is concerned with an upswing in wife-bashing and other forms of domestic violence that result in close family members being brutally murdered and cases where mothers kill their own babies. This worrying phenomenon also involves grandchildren killing their grandparents, parents killing their offspring, and children murdering their parents as a result of substance abuse while the motive in some of the cases is to cash in on insurance policies. Addressing the media at a press conference in Windhoek yesterday, Swapo Party Elders Council Secretary, Kanana Hishoono, said the nation shows an increasing tendency towards these social evils. "There are two fundamental questions that Namibians, law -abiding citizens, need to answer. What is the cause of this perilous phenomenon? And what can be done to stem the tide?" asked Hishoono. He said there are some aspects of life in society that contribute to the various forms of domestic violence. Hishoono said traditional customs and values are no longer respected in modern society, adding that the entire society has lost its morals, while discipline has broken down and moral decay has set in. He believes the culture of cuca shops is destroying traditional customs and values. "People in our country today, in both urban and rural areas, both old and young, spend their evenings at cuca shops, drinking tombo, pwaka, ndjambula and all other illicit home-brews. They no longer have time to spend the evenings to teach their children the good customs and traditional values of society," he said. Rather, the secretary of the Elders' Council said, they keep on quarrelling and hurling insults at each other, fighting amongst each other, irrespective of the vast age difference in their various age categories. "No useful things are learnt at the cuca shops, and usually. parental care and youth upbringing is generally lacking in today's society," he said. Another concern raised by the Elders Council was the issue of equality and human rights resulting from freedom and independence. The influence of the media, particularly the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), was another concern on top of the elders' list. "The mission of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation is to inform, educate, and entertain. This is a sound mission and NBC is congratulated for that." He noted that the media have a profound influence on members of society in which they operate, adding that the influence of TV is particularly significant. Though most TV programmes are full of violent scenes and younger generations are deeply in love and are obsessive with these programmes, older people do not admire them. "Many people when they commit violence they claim to have suffered from mental health problems, which is not always the case. It is just an excuse," said Hishoono. Thus Swapo Party Elders Council demands a system of ethics and values, to be devised, in order to transmit these desired values to the younger generations who will give the country a unique identity amongst the nations in the world. "The system should draw on the past, those positive aspects of culture and combine them with ethical values and be drawn from the aspirations for the better and safe future of Namibia." As a result, he said, the Elders Council is currently busy doing research for the establishment of a new system, and the research findings will be addressed to the appropriate authorities for attention and consideration. Copyright © 2008 New Era.