Tanzanian MP Pushes for Law to Force Children to Take Care of their Aging Parents

A Tanzanian lawmaker recently tickled Parliament after pushing for the enactment of law that will compel children to take care of their aging parents.

Kahama Urban MP expressed these views while contributing to a motion in Parliament.

He wondered why it is illegal for parents not to educate their children but then children are not reprimanded for failing to take care of their parents.

“If you do not take your child to school today you will be arrested and charged in court,” Kishimba said.

“So I am only asking the Ministry of Education to bring us laws so that when a parent educates his child to a point where he is working. And when the parent calls that child and he refuses to pick the phone, a law should be put in place to ensure the kid is punished,” he added.

“Parents are suffering in the village and yet their children are in Dar es Salaam living a good life, organizing birthdays and yet the parent even had to sell his cows to educate the child. He cannot go to the court to complain. He cannot go to the police. It is not fair,” the MP further explained.

He went on: “I can see the Minister for Education is here. The moment these kids finish their secondary education, you start giving them loans to facilitate their University fees. When they start working you deduct monies from their salaries to pay the loans. Why can’t parents also get a right to demand money from their children?”

“We are tired of cursing our children. A law should be put in place compelling police to take action against children who do not receive or return their parents’ telephone calls. Such a child should get a police order to send me money as his father. Educating children should be a direct investment to the parents. This sounds as a joke but it is not.”

Jumanne Kishimba has in the past pushed for the legalization of medicinal marijuana, pointing out that four other countries have already done the same.