Festive season beckons new ideas
Mmegi Editor | Tuesday December 12, 2017 15:42
Others have taken leave to travel to different holiday destinations to enjoy themselves.
The Botswana Railways has announced a number of initiatives in a bid to expand its services and ensure that travellers enjoyed their journey and the corporation should be commended for that.
One of the initiatives is to allow the sale of alcohol to those who may wish to use the train to travel home.
We believe that imbibers will be separated from non-imbibers and will be informed of what is expected of them that they should behave well during the entire journey.
BR should also ensure that there are train marshals who shall be called to enforce order when need arises as a result of excessive indulgence by some passengers.
Meanwhile, police statistics show that close to 400 people have lost their lives to road carnage this year as compared to 300 during the same period last year. Long distance travel by road has become a nightmare in Botswana because of the ever-growing population of vehicles on our roads.
Driving along the main A1 Highway, for ease and access, can be an expensive and risky misadventure that one can only breath a sigh of relief upon reaching their destination.
We are confident that BR initiatives will appeal to more people to use the train and reduce traffic congestion on the A1 Highway, which is the busiest road in the country.
It is peculiar that BR was forced to halt serving alcohol whilst on the other hand, Air Botswana was never ordered to do the same, yet any flight could be disturbed by unruly passengers who might force the captain to divert his route to their preferred destination.
We take this opportunity to appeal to lawmakers to consider reviewing the use of glass as a container for alcoholic beverages, particularly quarts. The police have recently announced that quarts are second to knives as weapons used in fights at entertainment centres.
Although plastic is dangerous for the environment, we should consider the use of plastic bottles as containers of alcohol particularly in places like bars and bottle stores that are frequented by youth, middle-class people, and even rascals.
The glass bottles are easily accessible and used as substitutes for weapons during disputes. The plastic container can be made recyclable.
We hope that Kgalagadi Breweries will consider doing a pilot project or market survey to see how customers will respond to plastic bottled beer and whether it is sustainable.
Today’s thought
“Dreamers are mocked as impractical. The truth is they are the most practical, as their innovations lead to progress and a better way of life for all of us.”
– Robin S. Sharma