Dear Editor – Allow me a space to continue to express my views on the inappropriateness of the South Pacific Games Sporting Complex location.
The government needs to seriously consider the possibility of youths causing public disorder and anti-social behaviour.
By taking away the sports training ground at King George Sixth School, SIFF Academy and SINU most youths will likely be a menace to society.
Also it does not make sense to take away six sporting fields to give back just one.
Any person with a right frame of mind would understand this and further come up with an idea to clear some plantation area at Lungga/Henderson or even unused government land around the outskirts of Honiara City to build international standard sporting complexes.
It is clear to see the government is trying to put the stadium in an area of town away from the settlements and squatters to give the athletes a good image of our small city.
However, the government needs to consider how destroying sports training grounds of our city youths will lead to public disorder and anti-social behaviour.
Without sports training grounds youths won’t be able to engage themselves in healthy activities for themselves and for the community as well as the city as a whole.
When youths aren’t preoccupied with something or do not have an aim they will find things to be preoccupied with and many will engage in anti-social behaviours and public disorder.
The government must be aware that taking sports away from youths will lead them into disruptive behaviour that includes:
Consumption of Alcohol like beer, kwaso & home brew;
Consumption of Drugs like marijuana;
Fighting
Rape
Teen age pregnancy & sex
Stealing and damaging of property
Harassment & intimidation
in their homes, communities and our city.
If the government is concerned for its youths, families, communities and Honiara city it should seriously consider finding other appropriate sites to build a stadium.
As I have already pointed out in an earlier article the Golf course is an appropriate location to build the South Pacific Games stadium and other sporting complexes.
The Golf Course can be relocated to the outskirts of Honiara City and this would be affordable for golf members.
Patrick M
Honiara
