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Sir,
I have been thinking about the many interventions of this nation, be it the fight to eradicate poverty (something that I consider a pipe dream), food security that has to do with the production of food for our sustenance, or improving information technology infrastructure; and was amazed to see that the common denominator that appears to hold us back is procrastination.
The reason I say eradicating poverty is a pipe dream is because our Lord Jesus acknowledged the fact that the poor will always be among us just as the rich would remain a part of our society.
This, I gathered reading His account when responding to Judas Iscariot’s claims that Magdalene was wasting an expensive perfume anointing Jesus when this would have been sold to get money to provide for the poor. And the Lord in response to Judas said the poor you will always have among you.
So, it seems that we will always have the poor among us, but our consolation is that we have the opportunity to make things better for them. The issue is not so much what we plan to do for the poor, but rather, when we will do it. Time is key.
Preaching
Government is preaching food security yet there are farms in its name that are lying idle and not being leased to farmers to use them productively. On that basis, no meaningful action or implementation has taken place in this direction. Procrastination has gotten the better of us, as always.
ICT infrastructure and other plans associated with opening up the cellular telephony industry have not changed a bit despite vigorous debates and undertakings by government to liberalise this sector. Liberalisation of the sector remains a dream despite setting up the communications regulator, whose task was to licence players in the sector.
And despite many prospective players showing interest in this sector, the doors to enter this lucrative industry remain sealed. And all this would be losses to procrastination - and to say it is a major undoing for this nation is an understatement, it is actually a disaster.
Babe Dlamini