Living in a broken society

7+26( who respect the elderly pave their own road toward success.” ± $frican 3roverb

$ vast majority of us who live in the global community are testimony to the brutal truth that life had been, and continues to be no bed of roses, especially in this century.

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7hose of us who are still alive, and, were born during the course of the

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century can easily attest, and, testify to the fact that compared to our time, life had, ever since the advent of the millennium, certainly taken a turn for the worst, and is continuously inun dated with a lot of challenges.

We are living in a disarrayed world, incessantly faced with numerous individual and national challenges. In this millennium, our present lives are bombarded with many of life’s struggles which include harsh, so cio economic challenges, as well as political turmoil.

7he challenges are continuing to wreak havoc on mankind with no fore seeable respite or end in sight. In spite of a few, moral, governing authorities doing everything they could to make affordable the lives of their people, the battle is rarely won, if ever. 2ther governments, sadly, promise heaven and, earth to their citi]ens, while pri vately, and, unseen, they loot public funds with impunity.

7aking you back memory lane, to the lush grounds of the *arden of Eden immediately after the dramatic, Eden )all, *od unleashed this curse on our sinful parents, $dam and Eve

*HQHVLV ³7he ground is cursed because of you.

7he die was cast. 0ankind was destined to toil for food all the days of his life until he returned to the ground...for dust we are.. 6ome of the most common problems faced by many countries, globally, especially in our $frican continent which are affecting the livelihoods of millions of people include unemployment, access to land, weak educational systems, gender discrimination, and poor health care systems.

7he advent of the deadly &2VID pandemic made matters worse, com pletely changing the socio economic, and political status of many coun tries, globally. Without any shadow of doubt, the pandemic became a social, as well as an economic crisis. Its repercussions were severe and far reaching, and are still being felt even to this day across the world.

0illions of people lost their lives. 7he pandemic wreaked untold havoc in the employment sector, resulting in job losses, depriving many people of their ability to make a decent living. Businesses were affected, with many closing down. $ccording to global statistics, eTuivalents of close to million full time jobs were lost. 8n believable"

3ost &2VID era..7he ripple effects of the pandemic are still being felt to this day. 1umerous, social ills like crime rates have soared to unbe lievable heights, making our present lives very hard to bear. 0any people chose to resort to committing various crimes in order to make a living irre spective of how illegal that is.

*ender based violence *BV among married and, unmarried cou ples, respectively, continues to rear its ugly head, especially in this country. It is getting worse. &ould these in creases be related to socio economic frustrations, maybe" $re we venting our frustrations on our partners at the slightest suspicion of infideli ty, even in circumstances that need cool heads" Women and children constantly receive the brunt of these violent acts.

&alls had been relentlessly mounting in the country for our government to declare *BV a national disaster in vain. While government procrasti nates, delays or is it, reluctant" to heed the calls for action, the relent less killing of women, and children does not procrastinate. It continues unabated.

KILLING

$s I write, a number of court cases are pending, waiting to be conducted in some of the country’s courts in order to determine the fate of some males accused of killing their part ners. 2n the other hand, the dead know nothing, testifies the Word of the /iving *od.

It is the living that are left to carry the burden of pain for losing their loved ones. $ sad, and sorry state of affairs...

*lobally, inclusive of countries in the $frican continent, we continue to experience a deteriorating, and wor rying trend in the decline of morals among members of our society. 6uch decline relentlessly manifests itself in numerous, diverse ways, especially among our youth who have become a perplexingly disobedient generation to parents, and society.

In our country, the nation continues to be under an onslaught of immoral vices like greed, and corruption, which are prevalent in numerous sectors of our society, inclusive of those in government. 6ome of the elite in our society are openly living Tuestionable, opulent lifestyles, with many suspiciously living beyond their means, allegedly through the spoils of corruption, doing so without any fear of being called to account for the source of their wealth.

3ride and egos one of the Deadly 6even 6ins which the Bible mentions

has destroyed this nation. 3ower and wealth have gotten into the heads of some in our midst. 0any who are in power view themselves as not accountable to the dictates, and the rule of law.

5ogue elements in law enforcement agencies are harassing, and persecut ing those calling for change. 7o some security officers, the law of the jungle has become their culture, and modus operandi, causing them to be compla cent, comfortable in the fact that they are immune from any prosecution. In short, they have become law unto themselves.

What can the people do, one might ask" =ilch. 3ower, the learned say, corrupts.

$s socioeconomic, and political problems mount, citi]ens of many countries demand a redress of social imbalances like ineTuality, nepotism, cronyism, jobs for pals, the deliberate failure to adhere to the rule of law, etcetera. &iti]ens of many countries globally, whose governments exhibit totalitarian tendencies, continue to demand democratic reforms. In the interim, some are harassed, jailed, others assassinated.

7he media whose job, among oth ers, varies from performing different duties like educating the masses, to persuasion, entertaining people, sur veillance of society, socialisation is under immense pressure to toe the line, and subscribe to the dictates of, especially, despotic regimes..or else. -ournalists are harassed, jailed, with some even killed. 0any governments are failing their people. 1ational resources are abused. Wealth mainly circulates among the elite. 6ervice delivery is poor. Educational and health systems continue to deteriorate. 3riority is given to self enrichment of the status Tuo, their families, and cronies in many countries, globally.

$s calls for democratic dispensa tion mount, many governments opt to spend millions on defence not against any outside threats, but from their own people who protest, fed up with the blatant abuse of power, as well as wastage, and looting of public resources.

6ome people in positions of power in many countries cannot tolerate any calls for engaging the people in peaceful resolutions of their prob lems threatening those who call for dialogue with legal action, something unheard of in the modern world.

6uch calls for engagement in di alogue if they were to be willingly adopted in good faith, would certainly lead to, and bring about the peace, and harmony many of us are yearning for as citi]ens of different nations. We are citi]ens in the global village, torn apart by political violence. &onsid er what is happening right now in countries like 6udan where political conflict has become very deadly...

Ever since the existence of mankind, difficult, harsh, and perilous times had always existed. But, as the years went by, a frightening escalation of these has continued to cause a growing consternation among many of us.

SOCIETY

We have, as I see it, wittingly or un wittingly, been divided into two, main camps, namely 2n the one hand, there exists in our society, at times not through fault of their own, those who µlive to exist’. 2n the other hand, there is the other group who µexist mainly to live’, and make a difference in their lives. /ife’s numerous challenges and hardships have contributed im mensely to many of our people living poverty stricken, lives. 7hose who are µjust living to exist’ have resigned themselves to living hopeless lives, wallowing in grinding poverty.

7his has and, caused many in this group to live only for the moment, with no prospects whatsoever of their lives, or welfare ever experiencing any change of fortune.

Difficult though to accept, many of our people continue to live below the poverty line in spite of our country being described as a low, middle income country, or whatever.

&ivil governments, whose duties also include, taking care of the welfare of the underprivileged, had more often than not, dismally failed this group. 0any people out there, especially in this country, are living dire, hopeless lives, fighting daily for survival, and living from hand to mouth.

In today’s article, I want to briefly write about, and, specifically address the plight of the elderly in our com munities who are wallowing in dire poverty.

But, first let me mention briefly what the sustainable development goals 6D*s have to say about eradicating poverty...

*lobal goals or, commonly known as the 6D*s were adopted by the 8nited 1ations 81 in as a ³global or universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by all people enjoy peace and prosperity...”

It is on record that many global countries committed to ³prioritise progress for those countries in the global world who are furthest behind. 7he 6D*s are designed to end pover ty, hunger, $ID6, and discrimination against women and girls...”

$ccording to the 8nited 1ations Development 3rogramme 81D3 which is the 81’s global development network advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life

*oal number of the 6D*s ³Eradicating poverty in all its forms remains one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. While the number of people living in extreme poverty dropped by more than half between

and , too many are still struggling for the most basic human needs..

DOUBT

Without any shadow of doubt, each country, has a part to play in realising the goals of the 6D*s.

&loser home, the poverty situation is dire. &onsider for a moment the plight of the poor, more especially, the elderly. It is simply heart rending.

Ever since the introduction of social grants for the elderly in the country, there had always been an outcry from a diverse cross section of the populace that the grants were not enough to sustain the livelihoods of the elderly, and the offspring or dependants they support.

I have to give credit where it is due, though, albeit, grudgingly. $fter many years had passed where the country’s elderly, and key stakeholders had continuosly urged our government to consider paying social grants monthly, instead after a three month period, finally, our government have relented. Bravo 7o the government

7he three month period was just not making any sense at all. It was too lengthy. Badonsa nzima bo gogo nabo mkhulu la ngaphandle, serious ly. 7hey take care of orphans whose parents died due to various causes, chiefly through ailments like the HIV and $ID6 pandemic.

$s much as we appreciate the ges ture of monthly payments of social grants, now, but, if truth be told, five hundred E per month is just a drop in the ocean. )ood is expensive. 6chool fees are unbelievably high. 7ransport costs are just too much. Electricity tariffs are rising exponen tially. 7he list is endless.

Babe Deputy 3rime 0inister, and 0inister of )inance 1eal 5ijkenberg, with due respect to both of you, hon ourables, do you copy, sirs"

3lease, kindly leave a legacy of excellence, and, a spirit of 8buntu, and consider topping up the elderly grants to at least...eish, something you too can be able to live on. &ome on bo sir...E E , monthly can bring a bit of a smile to our wrinkled faces. 3lease do remember the

th &ommandment ([RGXV ..

3eace 6halom