Mindset change: Re chenchile

Thulaganyo Jankey | Tuesday August 22, 2023 06:00

Obviously this also arms the naysayers to spew vitriol and trash his campaign. The current rallying cry by our President goes something like ‘Re chenchile’ But hold on, we have not changed as yet.

Until we all as a country work with SPEDU speed then we have not quite changed in the way the President has envisaged. For those who don’t know what SPEDU speed is let me explain it. SPEDU once budged into the Guinness Book of Records faster than the acrid sulphur-laced BCL smoke invades ones nostrils as they enter the mining town.

A few years ago SPEDU took a week to advertise for one of the executive positions, receive applications, sift through them, shortlist prospects, interview them and zero in on their man. Just one week! How’s that for efficiency? There’s a milk project that keeps still-birthing in Lobatse’s version of SPEDU and the custodians would do well to benchmark at SPEDU and get the project off the ground.

Ok, I do appreciate that there’s no per diem incentive and no international flight but mindset change means they can even get on a bus. I know getting on a bus doesn’t sound executive enough but a while ago government mooted the idea of government officers travelling by BX buses. And by the way, what happened to that seemingly Sankarra- inspired idea? Until our land boards stop acting like a pre-pubescent boy that hasn't gotten all their muscles and coordination yet, we cannot really achieve the desired change.

The whole system needs an injection of a speed and mindset change serum. Otherwise the idea of not a single sharp knife in a drawer full of butter knives lingers long in our minds. The transport department should also follow suit if we are to truly change. Most of us spend half our lives trying to get a driver’s licence. Getting an opportunity to do the theory test – one of the most difficult tests known to man – is at the level of difficulty of squaring a circle. It seems easier to actually pass a rocket-science test than a driving theory test. Anyone with a licence would have tried close to 13 times. Fail and repeat seems so the mantra here and that has an effect of successively cumulating the numbers with every theory test and snowballing the amount of test candidates. Mindset change also means the GBV-laced hands and minds must somehow be sanitised of GBV thoughts and actions.

The habit of beating up women when bars and nightclubs close should stop forthwith. Somehow some night-crawling couples spend the whole night all lovey-dovey until the bar closes and that is when the arguments and beatings start. Many a car park has been converted into a boxing ring after the bar closes. This is usually a prelude to passion killings. Mindset change means realising that our women are tired of dying.

The miserable lot that still sees callbacks as a means of communication must be collected in a big truck and dumped at Gamodubu landfill if they defy the President’s message of changing their mindset. This choice of landfill is deliberate because it is closer to the headquarters of the relevant ministry so that those that survive the landfill methane gases can be taken back when they escape. No, we cannot have our President shouting his voice hoarse and the citizenry and civil service all acting deaf. Mindset change is here and the myriad of workshops that happened around the country should not be in vain. It should at least start with those that enjoyed the snacks during these meetings and workshops.

There must be a semblance of a return on investment and they should be at the forefront. (For comments, feedback and insults email inkspills1969@gmail.com) Thulaganyo Jankey is a training consultant who runs his own training consultancy that provides training in BQA- accredited courses. His other services include registering consultancies with BQA and developing training courses. Contact him on 74447920 or email ultimaxtraining@gmail.com.