Collective effort on alcohol is needed

In the aftermath of 21 young people losing their lives at the Enyobeni Tavern in East London last month, calls for lifting the legal drinking age to 21 have grown stronger.

Yesterday, the funeral service was held for the teenagers. Ramaphosa, delivering the eulogy, said: “We have lost our children here. There are parents who will not get to hug or kiss their son or daughter again. We are losing our future generation to the scourge of underage drinking. It is something to be consumed in moderation and responsibly, and only by those who are of the legal age and mature enough to handle its effects.”

He added: “We are all affected when these wrong things take hold in our communities. Today, it is somebody else’s child, tomorrow it could be yours. Municipal authorities and local law enforcement officials must heed the calls and complaints from our communities.”

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We need to be realistic, though. Raising the legal drinking limit alone won’t help fix the abuse of the alcohol scourge that plagues our communities. It takes solid, consistent parenting and strong guidance from community leaders to ensure the youth don’t drink irresponsibly.

It takes a society to stand together to ensure our children are kept safe, and the perils of alcohol abuse is taught to children from a young age. It takes a collective effort.