Margaret Mensah-Williams
The most outstanding characteristic of a human being is that we are always active even when passive.
Passiveness is in itself an action characterised by its own inactivity.
To quote the Greek philosopher, Pericles: “Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.”
This brings one to the understanding that to think that when you ignore something it will go away is to fool yourself because there is no guarantee that what you ignore will ignore you.
We therefore cannot, will not and should not ignore the plight of others, especially as leaders.
Human beings exist to live a fruitful and victorious life. The main ingredients needed to live such a life are food, clothing and shelter.
Food is the tasty sustenance of life, clothing is the beautiful protective cover of life and shelter is the stability of life. Together they form the three basic and yet vital necessities of life.
These three basic and vital necessities of life are acquired through work and in an environment that is conducive to work and advancing the development and acquisition of skills through organised, concerted effort with the belief that one’s activities are improving one’s life and are not hindered by anything such as place or circumstance.
The fight for the political freedom of Namibians was not merely an academic exercise, but a highly organised and yet emotionally taxing sacrifice driven by individual and collective love for God and country.
The Swao-led government under the democratically elected leadership of His Excellency, Dr Hage Geingob has never shied away from taking responsibility for the Namibian nation, from the pensioners to the youth, to the sickly and the most vulnerable in our nation.
To correct the injustices and inequalities that were birthed out of the furnace of hatred requires love, before politics.
Some of those in our society who have decided to make it their daily task to criticise everything about this administration and in particular r Hage Geingob even to the point of being disgustingly obnoxious in their words, exude hatred embedded deep in their hearts, rather than love.
It is these people who choose to claim that they are fighting for the rights of the poor and downtrodden who have chosen to express themselves through hatred driven by misplaced anger.
Instead of being drunk and dizzy with anger, those who claim to be representing the masses should in a calm and dignified manner state their case through calculated utterances that attract and draw the interest of all stakeholders concerned.
To engage in cheap politicisation through hate speech of real issues and concerns of the masses is an exercise in futility and undermines all forms of building the nation.
The question that begs an answer is; is it still about the issues and real needs of the people or is it about egotistical power hunger?
It serves no purpose at all for anyone to claim that they represent the needs of the people and yet the very people become casualties of the reckless speech and action of the people that claim to be their messiahs.
There are real problems at stake that need us to collectively apply our minds in our bid to resolve them.
As leaders on all levels of government, we are committed to poverty alleviation, to addressing unemployment, gender-based-violence, alcohol and substance abuse as well as human trafficking and corruption to the point of having institutions and systems in place that rigorously address these matters.
Efforts to grow our economy are ongoing on a daily basis through national and continental strategic partnerships by consciously and deliberately interacting with institutions that have built capacity through best practices.
This, dear compatriots and fellow Namibians, are what we would term true love for the nation and the country without any ulterior motives and/or hidden agendas. Let’s learn to take hands and journey into the future, always aware of the fact that we are free today because of real sacrifices made by Namibians for Namibia.
I believe that there is a strong desire for many Namibians to take hands and in the spirit of Harambee, bring about the much needed change as we leave a legacy of peace and harmony.
As I pen my final thought, let us remember that alone you might go faster, but together, we can go further.
We all have a role to play. One part of the body can’t say you don’t need the other part .If one part suffers, the whole body suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Remember Evil will never triumph over good , so let’s reach across the isle unite this nation and position her to better harness the gifts of each Namibian to lay a solid foundation for the Namibian House.