By Mathias Haufiku

WINDHOEK- An opposition MP has called for a ban on all alcohol-related advertisements to curb the escalating use of alcohol in the country.

Republican Party MP Clara Gowases last Thursday in the National Assembly called for a ban on advertising alcoholic beverages when MPs discussed the Report on Alcohol Abuse in Namibia.

“I want to suggest that the advertising of alcoholic beverages be banned in the communities, and to the extreme, be banned completely,” she said.

She suggested the demarcation of special areas in communities where alcohol could be consumed.

She was also worried that the availability of alcohol results in children, some as young as 10 years, experimenting with alcohol at an early age.

She wants law enforcement agencies to strictly monitor shebeens and other liquor outlets to “protect our children”.

Gowases also sees a need for parents to be educated and sensitized to drink responsibly.

“The irony is that in most cases the children are left at home unsupervised. Children then visit shebeens with elder peers and are exposed to sexual activities, even in the houses where they stay,” she said.

She said education on using alcohol responsibly is a burning issue, and political leaders and councillors should make it their responsibility to address the issue in their campaigns and public meetings.

Also commenting on the report, the Deputy Minister of Education Sylvia Makgone warned that Namibia risks being wiped out if drastic measures are not taken to tackle alcohol abuse.

She further partly blamed parents who are failing to discipline their children.

“Parents nowadays are not able to discipline their children, claiming that their hands are tied by children’s rights. They [parents] should stop hiding behind children’s rights when they fail to discipline their children,” said the deputy education minister.

Makgone is also not impressed by parents who shift their parental responsibilities to schools, saying: “Can we give schools time to concentrate on their core function and not waste time on disciplinary issues.”

She also reminded fellow MPs about international alcohol indexes, which suggest Namibia ranks fifth in alcohol consumption on the African continent.

“We forget that what appears in the various indexes are not individual names, but a collective name. For instance, the Namibian Consumer Price Index released last year just said Namibians drink more,” she said.

“It is a shame that we even drink more than countries like Nigeria which has a population of over 178 million people and South Africa which has more than 52 million people.”

This prompted the Minister of Justice Utoni Nujoma to rise and warn that indexes might be misleading, but he admitted there are Namibians who are excessive drinkers.

“The statistics could be misleading if you cite Nigeria – a country like Nigeria has a huge community of Muslims, and as we know Muslims do not consume alcohol, so the statistics could be misleading,” he warned, adding: “But I do not deny there are Namibians who consume more than nine litres of alcohol.”

“Whether this is true or not, all I am saying is that the image going out is that Namibians are excessive drinkers,” responded Makgone.

The World Health Organization (WHO) 2011 Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health lists Namibia fifth on the African continent in terms of annual alcohol consumption, with the average Namibian consuming 9,62 litres of alcohol per year.

The WHO measured this by the amount of pure ethyl alcohol consumed per capita per year by people aged 15 and older.

According to the report Namibia has a wide breakdown of favourite drinks, but beer carries the most weight with 67 percent of consumption. Spirits make up 20 percent, wine 7 percent and “others” are at 6 percent.

During the 2012 financial year Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) sold over 1 million hectolitres of beer in Namibia – a milestone for the company.

WHO also recently stated that Namibian women rank sixth in Africa as binge drinkers, beating Zimbabwe, Senegal, Congo and Chad.

Citing data compiled by the WHO, the Washington Post said Zambia and South Africa, which both sit at the top, have 41,2 percent women who binge drink, while Burkina Faso with 36,8 percent and Mozambique with 32,9 percent are ranked third and fourth respectively. Nigeria takes up the fifth spot with 24,7 percent.