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WHY PAY FOR ID CARDS?

26/06/2016 00:03:00 The editor

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Sir,

I am happy to write this article, which will show how we people are insulting the existence of development.

I will use my own definition, which is that ‘an insult is a deliberately offensive act or something producing the effect of an affront.’
We all know that insults or affronts are at most things that belittle one’s dignity and truly, it is up to us to react towards insults.

Some get offended, angry and aggressive, while some feel embarrassed when insulted, but all in all insults are not good for a good mood.
We all act towards development as if it has an ending, which is why some people further insult development by not taking any initiatives to develop. Some people insult development by taking control of what must be developed and who must oversee that development, in that way this limits development yet it is infinite and for everyone.

We lack a platform to cater for the exchange of opinions or as I said, the one controlling the development is even controlling the availability of chances and opportunities.
Some people feel insulted when criticism is forwarded, but criticism simply opens doors to even more and better things.
Ask anyone who is living splendidly if he has not faced waves of criticism from close people who meant well.

I was pleased to meet a couple of people who used to read my articles about Vision 2022. They said I was too critical and somehow visioning my own First World status, otherwise ‘tsine sitobona ngaye lo2022’.
This meant they would wait for it to arrive and only hope they are counted as worthy to be part of the vision.

I asked them what they were doing to develop in parallel with the vision and they shyly said they had no power to do anything.
For me, that was a ‘grassroots level’ of insulting development and the vision. It made me think silently that these fellows did not project their livelihood to even imagine a life in the future.

If knowledge is power, what knowledge could be given to these folks, so as to have power to develop?
Some developments have always been forced onto people, whereby they had to have personal identity cards by law and no one could do anything without the PIN written on the card.

Were those ID cards and passports collected free of charge? No, they were not free and up to this day, all citizens are required to fork out a certain amount in order to obtain one. By law, government has such information on every citizen available in digital format.

If everyone were in possession of tablets and smart phones, accessing good websites that provide them with useful knowledge, how many people would lack the power to foster development? Which individual would have time to quarrel with the government or anyone else for that matter, other than being glued to his/her official gadget?

Swaziland could be the first country to turn guns into ploughshares as recorded in Isaiah 2 verse 4, by educating and connecting everyone for anything.
I know how much our political leaders loathe the idea of other political gatherings, but this is a good opportunity to groom/condition future politicians from a tender age.

Politics is not for old people alone and not all politics is evil, so some good can be achieved. I really worry when people shy away from discussions that concern leadership, but come election time, they will be voting people into political leadership positions as part of their duties as citizens of the country. I pity the voter who dies without seeing the change he voted for.

In all honesty, we really insult our intellectual development by always hoping to copy development from others.
That is why we are slow to develop since we would be waiting for others to develop first, then copy their development.
We have allowed people to look at our nations as Third Worlds, developing worlds and finally developed worlds.

This is an insult to development since development has no limit to longevity and style. Swaziland will have its own style of a First World status at country level and individual level because the benchmark of any development is truly based on subjective perceptions of what development is to you.

Truly speaking, does being developed mean there is no more room for improvement or rather is there a final stage in development?
How can this be done? Well, it is up to all network service providers like MTN, SPTC and all financial institutions to look up at this chance and meet the vision halfway by making the purchasing of these gadgets affordable to customers.

A simple tablet worth E1 500 could be sold to customers at a cost of E200 for 12 months, for an annual profit of 60 per cent.
This would also give a chance to those who can afford to for fork out E1 000 per month to even obtain five tablets at once for their families. The reason to register it with your PIN is for national and individual security, because malicious information may be tracked and when the gadget has been stolen, it could easily be retrieved.

Which internet service provider wouldn’t gain immensely with the sales of data bundles and how many dormant web applications would arise so as to share useful knowledge of development? Swaziland is known for BushFire, traditional ceremonies and geographical beauty, she is truly known as a peaceful country and since inception, no country has ever threaten Swaziland with war or even asked her for a friendly military combat, but instead, more people do find refuge in the country.

This miracle which is up for grabs is really deep, in the sense that it will show us the existence of the devil if ever any country would wage war over the ‘First World’s Most Peaceful country: Swaziland’.

Think of a time when international countries copy Swaziland’s human energy policies, such as grouping the same creative minds to achieve a certain development task at a larger scale and for generations to come. The best weapon of mass destruction is the unavailability of information. That is why if all networks would shutdown, many people would die anonymously. People learn faster on the internet and feel happy to own the latest electronic products which would never have ever come if development was limited.

I would wish to write further about how we belittle development but there is limited space.
Let me conclude by saying we have a responsibility for development now and tomorrow. Do not wait for others to develop first, but be in search of those with the same development initiatives and opportunities.

Do not insult your own development by using other people’s development as your benchmark. Do not insult other people’s development by negative criticism but help others to develop by positive criticism and ideas.

Elvis Kapupu
MANZINI