SOCIAL LIVING

Most of the pre-independence nationalist movements of the 50s projected that by the year 2000 the satanic trinity of poverty, ignorance and disease that has been plaguing Africa would be a thing of the past.

Kwame Nkrumah’s dream of a United States of Africa would have been realised and Africa would be an industrialised continent. Here we are in 2014, still struggling with issues of poverty, ignorance, and disease.

What went wrong; or rather what is still going wrong? Is it because we inherited a political, economic, social, moral and spiritual bankruptcy? Are we victims of poor management, incompetent governments and unjust international economic systems? The time to make our society and country a better place to live in is now. Good intentions can turn into a heap of unfulfilled dreams if we refuse to act now. While God has allowed us to be in positions of influence, let us learn how to deal with pressing and important issues that will put our nation on the right track to becoming a First World nation.

The time to act for posterity is now. If today’s plans and intentions are not followed up with positive, coordinated, action they will end up being merely a heap of unfulfilled dreams.
I believe the turning point will be when we begin to realise that we can start with what we already have. The problem with most of us is that we prefer looking at what others have. We always think that the little we have cannot make a difference. We actually have human resources; gifted and talented people. Let us create a conducive environment for gifted people to maximise their gifts and talents.

Innovation and creativity should be encouraged. We must also create a conducive environment for our businesspeople and professionals to operate freely, so that the nation can benefit from them. We have natural resources, land that could be used for agricultural produce. We should not despise the resources we have in the forms of our human resources, natural resources and mineral resources. In order for us to maximise these resources, we must embrace the spirit of unity and work together.   

Life is about relationships, it is about how we relate with each other. Our success, happiness, and fulfillment as a nation will greatly depend on our ability to relate effectively with each other at family, community, professional, business and national levels. It will take a coordinated effort to transform this nation into a First World one.
The biblical story 2 Kings 6: 1–7 gives us a picture of people who demonstrated a coordinated effort to bring about change: “And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, ‘See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us. Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell.’ So he answered, ‘Go’.”

These people realised that they needed change. Their response to this need teaches us lessons that are needed even today. Their first response was that they manifested positive discontentment. Their second response was to resolve to act as one. Thirdly, they mobilised themselves to act according to their resolution. Positive discontentment makes us realise that things can be better than they are. Contentment is actually a fatal blow to progress. It is said that there are three kinds of people;

1) Passive: These are people who do not want to move from their comfort zone. They prefer staying on familiar ground. They usually refuse to do anything new. They say; “This is the way we have always done things.” First World status will demand that we accept change in certain areas of our lives and embrace the spirit of excellence.
2) Critical: These are people who are both dissatisfied and discontented. But, unfortunately, all they do is criticise, grumble, complain and murmur. They are inciters, but when asked for a solution they have none.
3) Positively discontented people.

We should always learn to make a difference through constructive discontentment. There is a difference between criticising and critiquing. Simple criticising usually offers no solutions. Critiquing looks at the negative situation and sees opportunities for progress. Positive discontentment always looks at what are our weaknesses, our strengths, the opportunities around us and also what are the possible challenges? The answers to these questions should be used to come up with a course of action and a set of solutions for change in our homes, communities and nation. Constructive or positive criticism is outgoing and creative. It usually takes initiative and refuses to give excuses.

Finally, the task for family, community and national change is not going to be accomplished by any one person. Unity is strength. We must be united, we must work together. We must put away suspicions and the concern about who is going to take the credit for any achievements. We must work with excellence.  Work produces creativity and innovation. With focus and consistence, the dream for a better Swaziland can be achieved.

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