Patriotism yeilds benefits, not poverty
| Monday May 5, 2014 16:43
We have decided to unpack our understanding of this robust word “PATRIOTISM.” To us patriotism refers to our Heritage, Language, Tribe(s). If this understanding is correct, we would therefore submit that patriotism symbolises a strong inner feeling of human spirit and the values of human kind.
When we grew up in our villages of Makaleng and Matenge, brought up by our Parents of Bakhurutshe tribe. Our upbringing was in such a way that we got to understand these human values that make a better person, strengthen a united nation and a proud Country. Our Parents used the heritage to emphasize the importance of such lessons.
One illustration they cited was proverbs such as Maru gase Pula, Mosi ke Molelo, Metsi a tsena ka Ntlo, Go sha legong go sale molora etc. The message of these proverbs was meant to prepare us for future challenges, to never lose our principles.
We have realised that it is the norm in our country that when it gets tough, we always refer to patriotism for comfort and canvas for support from the nation in order to release pressure or achieve our goals.
What is critical at this point is that we never pause and ask the question of whether we consulted all stakeholders at every stage or processes we undertook to a point where we encountered problems and pain. The answer is a big no. How could we then expect the same people we never consulted to be patriotic?
We have listened to many people talking about patriotism in different forums and the recent one was the BNSC awards held this past Saturday in Gaborone. Because it is recent, it is the focus of this letter. It will help us unpack patriotism, with hope that our argument will benefit the nation.
Firstly, we wish to congratulate BNSC and its stakeholders for hosting successful awards over the years. Keep it up. It was pleasing to hear the Chairperson of BNSC inform us more about the upcoming 2nd Africa Youth Champions scheduled for later this month.
What caught our attention the most was the clarion call he made to the nation to be patriotic.
He called on taxi drivers, hawkers and parents to take a moment of reflection on what this event means to them; the value it brings and the general benefits to the country. We know that BAYGOC, as an organising committee, has been with many other people, calling for the Olympic spirit and patriotism in order to hold successful games.
We would like to ask a few questions which may make the nation better understand patriotism and, why patriotism is the foundation of a united, proud, and prosperous nation.
Our questions to the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture; BAYGOC and; the organising committee is as follows:
1. When the bidding process was done, did you consult all stakeholders?
2. When we won the bid, did you do a due diligence report on the value of the event and which stakeholders did you consult?
3. If the value was there it means the report was taken to each sector for consultation, who did you consult?
4. What skills and talents audit have you done for this event in Botswana before inviting foreign skills?
5. Finally, we all know events of this magnitude have a legacy. What tangible benefits should citizen-owned businesses as well as the nation expect?
We have asked these questions in order to unpack patriotism as the foundation of a United, Proud and Prosperous Nation. If you have answers to these questions, then we do not believe we should be getting calls for patriotism as these consultations should have done precisely that.
The Way Forward:
We have realised that as a nation, we have abandoned our responsibilities, being the right to account for our money (“Public Funds”) and the right to make those given responsibilities to account. We would like to make a clarion call to men and women of this country to be counted and claim their responsibilities and account for their money “Public Funds.”
Our collective responsibilities are to build a united, proud and prosperous nation that offers equal opportunities to all Batswana.
One good example we can share with the nation is that when President Ian Khama addressed a Kgotla meeting in Tlokweng, he admitted that as a nation, we have been robbed by these unscrupulous foreign companies out of poor work ethics and unfinished work they have delivered in Botswana. This was a good call to us as a nation to take up our responsibilities.
We have decided as citizens of this country to make our contribution to this noble gesture by contributing our resources, skills and talents to educate our nation on patriotism as the foundation of a united, proud and prosperous nation and we will create platforms, avenues for all citizens to participate and use our best endeavour to archieve the set goals.
Finally, we wish BAYGOC, the organising committee and the nation a successful event.
Thank You
Gibson Matenge/for Billionare Consortium
A Partner @ Billionare Consortium