We are becoming a chaotic nation

Mmegi Editor | Thursday October 20, 2016 15:26

The elections  were supposedly delayed by more than seven hours, obviously because of differences on the conduct of the elections. This delay has inconvenienced a large number of delegates who had hoped that they would finish in time and go back to their places of residence to continue with their lives.

Trade unions, just like political parties are made of individual members who with ambitions and differing opinions on how the organisations should be run, as well as the direction they may be taking. Some individuals even harbour ambitions of leading them at some point and would do anything from cheating to refusing the outcome of election results in order to stay in power.

These differences however, should not be a stumbling block to holding peaceful and productive conferences for these movements, which we so much need for the health of our democracy. It pains to observe that we have become a nation that is selfish, self centred and placing too much importance on ourselves. This is the main reason why we have duplicate trade unions, split of churches, and even Non-Governmental Organisations.

These organisations are usually established with the main objective of serving the interests of workers; to worship together; and or to fight injustices against the weak. However, along the way unscrupulous individuals who use them to enrich themselves at the expense of the very people they are supposed to serve hijack them.

Trade unions and churches have become a source of revenue for many people and therefore holding senior positions in such is a licence to riches. Competition is healthy for any organisation, but it becomes a threat or risk when it reaches a point where members of the same organisation cannot reach a compromise.

Some of these attitudes can be seen in family social events when an individual or two want to dominate every stage of the event side-lining other family members. Some would even boycott a funeral or wedding for the simple reason that other family members pleaded for recognition.

We ought to introspect and look back to see why we are having these challenges. Different trade unions should find time to come under one roof on annual basis (Pitso) where they should discuss some of these issues. Families too should be brave enough to face each other and iron out differences instead of keeping distances and not talking to each other. Although they continue to split, churches have a platform under Botswana Christian Council and other umbrella bodies where they discuss their issues. We should all make contributions and will subsequently build a prosperous nation, which does not take advantage of the plight of others for self-enrichment.

Today’s thought

“We may repeat the awful revolutionary history of the 20th century because of the vulnerability of social movements to demagoguery.”

 

– Todd Gitlin