NEWLY elected members of Nelson Mandela Children's Parliament are worried about their fellow peers.
They voiced their concerns to Parliament in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature on Friday, 14 July. The members said most children had access to mainstream media and the amount of alcohol advertised was of great concern.
“As children, we would like to see government limit how alcohol is advertised by putting more programmes in place to monitor alcohol advertisement,” said Honourable Nkosi Thembela (14) from Mpumalanga.
Social Development spokeswoman, Lumka Oliphant, said members of children’s Parliament also appealed to government to look into the accessibility of alcohol in their communities, especially black communities. They urged that the age of alcohol sales be increased.
Another worry raised was suicide committed by children.
“Some of the issues which concerned the members was the high number of children who are committing suicide," she said.
She added that the members were disappointed by the non-attendance of different ministers even though they raised this in their last sitting in 2021.
"They were grateful that the Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu, honours their sitting. They took a resolution that their new president should write to President Cyril Ramaphosa and raise this concern, and that Minister Zulu should deliver their correspondence,” said Oliphant.
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Zulu said: "We have heard your concerns regarding adverts which glamourise alcohol, especially during prime time."
She added that as she delivered the Children’s Manifesto, she was willing to take their correspondence to Ramaphosa. The manifesto was held under the theme: Maximising the voices of children in addressing social ills affecting them.
Oliphant said the Children’s Parliament seeks to ensure children are given an opportunity to speak out freely on issues affecting them.
“The Parliament is held in conjunction with the Department of Basic Education and development partners such as the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, Save the Children South Africa and UNICEF,” she said.
