The nation has so far witnessed plenty of opinions and criticism directed at various departments of the government of Botswana.
The two most criticised are the Presidency and the Ministry of Education.
I personally wish to stay away from playing ‘the search for the guilty’ which in any case is rarely a value added activity.
I rather would like to tactfully attribute the ongoing to the nation as a whole, specifically to citizens who were eligible to cast a vote but never did. These are people who are victims of self-abuse, people who choose to deprive themselves of their most influential right.
These people are too preoccupied by their individual well being to an extent that they lack the innate rational means of acknowledging the massively potent power they have as citizens.
The paramount attitude of the majority of Batswana towards their political responsibilities causes pain of measureless proportions. Perhaps it is a reflection of misdirected funds in educating us ‘freely’.
‘Free education! ‘, yes!
The lack of commitment by fellow citizens in acknowledging political responsibilities is a central symptom of a serious national sickness, perhaps as serious as the HIV/AIDS epidemic and alcohol related issues. What makes it more life threatening is that it is strategically given the least of attention from all the relevant stakeholders, because it would bring a change.
And most have a phobia for change. The scary part of this malady is that it affects all, no matter the side you take.
I personally have a considerable and practical sense of tolerance and appreciation for our current government which has been elected to power by those with diplomatic accountability. I see it as a system with its own faults and imperfections, regardless of the degree. What remains is that it was elected in elections that are documented as transparent. Indeed many people still express gratification with regards to the party in power. What troubles me and those with a need to make sense out of situations is that whenever we are given a chance to make a change we mischievously misuse it. We would rather retain the pose of apathy and slumber in our comfort zones, waiting for a critic to be raised and start pointing fingers. A practical change is a seeming nightmare for many who seem to have sailed smoothly in life without a need for switch. These are people who have missed the growth that accompanies positive change, one of the serious forms of self-abuse. By intuition, lack of change implies stagnation. I cannot imagine being the same person I was yesterday or last year or ten years ago. The government itself hardly mentions the disappointing election turnout because that would stir change. She rather settles for apparent issues like alcoholism which have less feasible means to overcome.
Apparently the school curriculum itself is devoid of themes that would enhance the attitude of young people to politics.
Despite complaints of unsatisfactory service levels across government departments for years, the nation will in September celebrate the 44th anniversary of the same party in power. I wish to point particularly to the Ministry of Education, which is rife with inconsistency. This ministry has failed upcoming students to degrees which are very hard to pardon. Take for instance the loan recovery strategy, which is chronically unsystematic and irregular, and which is the prime reason as to why my upcoming brothers and sisters, and my children are not going to receive free education and possibly might not have a chance to study overseas. Most disturbing is the way in which the ministry addresses issues with regards to the UB student body. These are issues which have been obvious to the eye for along time.
Having signalised the errors that prevail in our society, which could possibly give birth to a national catastrophe, I urge everyone to upgrade their political perspective. The whole concept is about choosing the best alternative which will give us what we deserve as a nation. Let us not fear change, because when we do not initiate change then fate will, and usually as a fatal disorder. Let us do it for the love of ourselves, and our upcoming brothers and sisters and for the love of our blessed and beautiful country.
I wish to borrow the best-known sentences in the English language, the most potent and consequential words in American history, a country with a dynamic and versatile political system.
‘’We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are born equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, amongst these are LIFE,LIBERTY & THE PURSUIT OF HAPINNESS” by Thomas Jefferson.
And what true happiness can we pursue if we remain blind to the virulence of our addiction to comfort?
