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We hope for brighter days in 2025 as the nation adopts new resolutions, anticipates new directives from the throne and wonders if the now-released government programme of action will get to be realised and what opportunities it presents.
We must, however, take stock of what could derail these good intentions, especially at the government and political levels, since we have stepped into 2025 with baggage that should have been left behind. Several questions remain unanswered yet require immediate action. Fixing the health crisis: Last year saw government shut the door on new intakes under the Phalala Fund as resources ran dry, which was a difficult pill for needy patients to swallow. This further exacerbated the trauma experienced by patients amid the ongoing challenges plaguing our health system.

Healing

However, with new tenders issued, old suppliers leaving and the minister refusing to be bullied by suppliers, 2025 should be declared a year of emotional and physical healing for this nation in the health sector.  And Cabinet can start this process by implementing the resolutions of parliament on the drug shortage crisis. Anything to the contrary would be as good as signing death certificates for the populace. Is bread now a staple food? Food insecurity remains a huge challenge for the current government and I am not sure if it has realised that bread is becoming the staple food for most families. The sad part is seeing some shops cashing in on this by selling bread at 80 cents and 70 cents above the gazetted prices for brown and white bread, respectively. We need to inform the public about the number of fraudulent shops that have received penalties and the timeline for our refunds.

Creating unemployment: Job creation remains one of the major goals for this country and this requires a collective effort to ensure that we make use of every available opportunity. However, we were disappointed to learn that government allows extension of employment if you can amend your date of birth as you wish.

Blunders

At least 426 civil servants were allowed to extend their employment by changing their birth dates, reportedly due to earlier blunders as if they did not know their age when submitting their birth certificates and identity documents (IDs) upon employment. How do they explain this to all the unemployed youth of this country? This is a joke. They must go home and give others a chance to serve! Resolve LAB impasse: Added to the jobs issue is that we need collaboration between employers, workers and government for a conducive environment to prevail. Currently, employers and government are not seeing eye to eye at the Labour Advisory Board (LAB). This requires urgent intervention as the two seem to have taken extreme positions. A lot is at stake here, especially with an Employment Bill on its way, that is coming with significant changes to the business environment.

 Crime rate increase scary: When the National Commissioner of Police reports a 15 per cent surge in crime and a 59 per cent increase in drug trafficking, every citizen, parent, or guardian had better wake up and do something about it. Police are simply not coping and the situation may not get better anytime soon as long as we have grumpy junior officers who are being owed their Phase II salary increase promised to them a decade ago. We have a choice; to either smoke out these drug and crime lords together, or get smoked out of our homes and hard-earned belongings by our own children!

Judicial crisis extended: There seems to be no urgency to resolving the myriad of challenges facing our judiciary. Families embroiled in conflict and needing urgent respite over unresolved estate matters have to wait a while longer, as the time period for concluding the probe into the operations of the Master’s Office has been extended for another six months, as with many things in our courts that take forever. The crisis in the judiciary must end before we experience another one that may be beyond anyone’s control. Fix our education system: The education sector will forever remain our gateway to the future prosperity of this country and it deserves 110 per cent commitment from government to ensure it functions efficiently and effectively. The government programme of action highlights this point and seeks to create centres of excellence, which is all well and good.

Fixing

The success of these centres, however, will be determined by how good we are at fixing our university and other institutions of higher learning, sorting out the curriculum transformation mess, and allocating proper funding and human resources to schools. If we cannot get the basics right, how do we hope to build better schools, let alone a better tomorrow? Accountability and transparency are non-negotiable: If this country is to seriously address the challenges it faces, it needs accountable leadership. It goes without saying, therefore, how disappointing it is when after a year in office, we learn that the prime minister (PM), some Cabinet members and lawmakers failed to declare their assets as required by the Constitution. It is unacceptable and reflects badly on our leadership. We must follow the law at all times, not when it suits us. Attached to this, is the need to account to the public, such as when the prime minister fields questions from the editors forum. His final meeting with the editors was the year’s quintessential political duel, where emotions got in the way of accountability. We are yet to see if we will have another breakfast meeting with the PM, because without it, accountability and transparency are as good dead and buried.
 With that said, here is to wishing you all a prosperous 2025!

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