The government's intention to make begging an offence in the country is long overdue and should be implemented immediately.
Our cities with all the blessings have attracted hoards of beggars both local and foreign and on the streets one can see both the young and old begging for alms from the public. One cannot feel sorry for them as they are still able to do an honest day's work to earn their keep instead of begging.

In a modern and civilised society, beggars who are a nuisance to the public should be kept off the streets. Some of them tend to be abusive in their persistent begging not to mention that the sight of them will tarnish the image of our country in the eyes of visiting tourists.

It is a well-known fact that most of the foreign beggars are under the control of syndicate members who take a cut from their earnings as begging is known to have a very lucrative income.

The public can play their part in discouraging street-wise beggars by not giving them money. One can instead buy food for them instead of giving them cash. Money should only be given to genuinely old and infirm beggars who have no other means of earning a living.

Giving our hard-earned money to young and healthy beggars will only create social problems with more and more people turning to begging instead of working hard to earn their wages.

It is morally wrong for the young and able to beg for a living instead of finding a decent job to pay their bills.