Each time I read about or see children attending classes under trees I am reminded of the long journey our country still has to traverse to rid itself of the scourge of poverty. I admit that I am not among the new group of people recently mandated to go and sit in parliament for the next five years in order to make the laws we need to take our country forward.
But that does not excuse me from my duty to use my mind to imagine solutions to my society’s problems. My thinking about this matter of children attending classes under trees fifteen years into democratic rule is that maybe the time has come for South Africa to have a piece of legislation that prevents people from drinking alcohol under roofs until all our children are taught under decent roofs.
The law should stipulate that as long as there are children in our country who receive their lessons sitting on rocks under trees, all alcohol consumption in our beloved country shall take place only under trees and with rocks as chairs. The benefits flowing from such legislation would be manifold.
Many existing trees would be taken care of and even new ones planted as people will not want to run out of their only legal drinking spaces. Many drinkers would not be happy to park their expensive cars next to trees in the open to enjoy their drinks. They would also not be happy to damage their flashy clothes by sitting on rocks in order to enjoy their beverages. Such a piece of legislation would result in drinkers immediately mounting and sponsoring aggressive campaigns to build classrooms for the learning needs of our nation’s future leaders.
Naturally, this would also serve our environmental management needs in a splendid way. The amount of trees chopped down every day for flimsy reasons would be reduced significantly. We would have throngs of men and women, out of nothing but self-interest, guarding the trees voluntarily and for free.
We require a lot of creativity and innovation to pull our country out of the morass of misallocation of resources. I wonder how many of us are aware that some countries are already farming from their rooftops in their urban areas where space is limited.
The sheer scope and complexity of the challenges confronting our country should make us want to use every opportunity to innovate and improvise. But creativity rarely happens without leadership courage and risk-taking. I humbly but sincerely offer this idea to our leaders in parliament to consider in order to heal our society of the ignominy of children attending classes under trees while the adult population consumes alcohol cocooned in castles.
There is also good chance that the proposed legislative intervention would play some role in helping to slow down the rate at which we, as a society, tend to seek refuge in alcohol and other related activities.
Gibson Sakong – Executive Chairman
Montshepetja Academy
2 Comments until now.
I AM SCHOCKED TO HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE FOUGHT FOR SUCH A COURSE. IT IS A VERY EMOTIONAL ISSUE, AND I MUST SAY THAT IN THIS PROPOSAL’S REJECTION, I PASS EMOTION OF RECALLING TO OUR PORTFOLIO HOLDERS.
THE THOUGHT OF, WHAT OUR VERY OWN GOVERNMENT REFERRES TO AS FUTURE LEADERS, LEARNERS SCHOOLING UNDER TREES AND NEXT TO REEDS IS OF GREAT SHAM UNTO OUR COUNTRY. CONTRARY TO THAT, THE THOUGHT OF, WHAT OUR LEADERS REFER TO AS ALCOHOLICS AND SUBSTANCE ABUSERS, ALCOHOL CONSUMERS BEING BUILT PRIVATE DRINKING AREAS IS A VALUABLE TO OUR COUNTRY, BECAUSE IT IS CRUCIAL IN OUR ECONOMY. AS MUCH AS I HATE EATING IN CLASS, I HATE TO SAY THTHAT OUR GOVERNMENT HAVE MADE THE MOST PREPOSTOUS DECISIONS EVER. THIS, THOUGH DOES NOT SAY THAT THEY HAVE FAILED AS THEY CAN STILL AMEND THEIR MISATKES.
IN EDITION TO WHAT Mr SAKONG HAS SAID, ALCOHOL LOCATIONS ARE OF NO USE, HONESTLY. WHEN THESE CHILDREN WHO ARE FORCED BOTANISTS COME FROM THEIR LAB (TREES), THEY ARE MOCKED BY THKIDS OF THOSE CONSUMING ALCOHOL IN FANCY CLUBS. THIS TREND AFFECTS NO ONE OTHER THAN THOSE WHO ARE SCHOLARS UNDER SUCH CONDITIONS, FOR INSTANCE, THESE STUDENTS GO TO THE VERY SAME CLUBS AFTER SCHOOL FOR THERE IS NO OTHER PLACE THEY CAN GO TO AFTER THEIR CLASSES. ON THE OTHER, THE MONEY THESE ALCOHOL CONSUMERS ARE FLASHING TO THESE STUDENTS WHO ARE DEPRIVED OF EDUCATION COULD BE USED TO BUILD THEM SCHOOLS,INSTEAD OF MAKING THEM SEX LABOURERS.
THE RATE OF UNNECESSARY DROPOUTS IN OUR SCHOOLS IS VERY HIGH, AND IF SUCH MATTERS ARE NOT ATTENDED TO, NOTHING WILL CHANGE. I AS A UNIVERSITY STUDENT CANNOT BRIGHTEN AND SOFTEN THE FUTURE ALONE, BUT WITH THE AID OF OTHERS WHO, LIKE ME, UNDERSTAND THE DIFFICULTIES OF LIFE AND OF OUR COUNTRY, IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING AND NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.
I WISH THAT THE MANDATED PERSONEL WILL TAKE THIS MANDATW WHEN PUT FORWARD, AND THIS IS A GREAT THOUGHT AND IDEA.
Personally I think is about time that every one of us should start by looking at this challeging moment,to develop our own communities in putting helping hand in the schools we start attending while we young.Contrubuting by means of finace and also making sure that our children attend school,teaching part time for our children in our own communites will also play a major role in achieving our goals halfing poverty in our cuntry in a record time.On part of the goverment be aggressive in making laws that will benefit our education and our economy to cater for poor of our society and also reward those how helping our communities to grow through their leadership skills that their putting back to their country.
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