STARK WARNING OF OUR FUTURE

Madam,

Economic hardships seem to be an everlasting, chilling echo in our modern society. A pessimistic, apathetic attitude has permeated the national climate. As the year nears its halfway mark, the economic, social and political challenges of emaSwati only continue to be magnified. There is a serious discontentment with the current quality of life, a vexation with the political climate and democratic situationality, and a heavy hopelessness with the notion of future prospects in our nation. A high percentage of the population does not see their lives improving whatsoever, and likely worsening, in the next five-year period. This decline in life satisfaction is not only affecting the upper class, but particularly the underprivileged too.

empowerment

Economic empowerment is key to survival, especially in a capitalist context like the country. However, our economic trajectory has shown the affordability of life in our nation to be increasingly critical; the price of food, transportation, education and general liveability. This is deeply disheartening, considering that the recent past has brought about a myriad economically strenuous challenges. The reverberations of inflation, the impact of climate change on food and productivity, the declining sustainability of almost every facet of our society, among many others, is much to cry out about.

action

The lack of action taken by our leaders and decision-makers, not only nationally but also continentally, has been detrimental to our overall improvement. The level of distrust, deception and blatant denial of our detrimental national situation has only exacerbated our dreadful situation. This has most definitely contributed to the gloom-ridden outlook on our futures and our democratic society. This shows that a continuation in the way that our political sector grappled with our societal issues needs a major overturn. What is evident is that we can no longer tolerate the greedy, individualistic nature of our political environment of this country.

It is starkly true, more than ever, that we cannot look to our leadership to address the troubles of our people swiftly and effectively. Our challenges will require a collective and intentional collaboration by all the sectors of society, to truly address. All these challenges require additional spending and economic power to overcome, which is impractical and impossible for a huge segment of our population. The issue of affordability of life is not merely a matter of purchasing luxuries, but actually maintaining one’s investment in critical protective mechanisms. Economic inclusion continues to be very real challenges faced by many in the country.

power

Our nation’s decision-makers undermine the power of happy citizens. Citizens that are joyful, positive and empowered are more likely to be creative, idealistic and transformative. They are more likely to enact positive change in our society, and as such, build the fabric of our society. There is deterioration in the fabric of the nation. This gleaming hopelessness that pervades our society is a stark warning of our future. We cannot afford to disregard the pitiful state of the nation, the increasingly contentious lived realities of our citizens, and the despair of those who will surely lose the fight for survival if our state does not improve. Political, civic and institutional chaos cannot continue to be normalised. I implore the decision-makers, community leaders, religious leaders, young and old leaders, to rally behind our citizenry, and to ensure that we grapple with our many social issues in a creative, collective and sustainable way.

T Makoe

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