Talk is cheap - An Open letter to Mmuso Part 2
Keletso Thobega | Wednesday December 4, 2013 11:44
When I first wrote to you, some people said I would “disappear”. Although nervous, I was a bit excited because I’m a sucker for “adventorous experiences”. Imagine just disappearing into thin air and my pretty face plastered around with a big ‘Missing’ sign. Wow, that would make for a great mystery puzzle and we’d have to call in Mma Ramotswe to help find me. Imagine the disappointment that would set when I re-appear a few weeks later and everyone finds out I had gone to visit a secret loverat the mines in Marikana! Heish! This disappearing business must be a figment of someone’s fertile imagination. Wena, you are a good guy; you respect freedom, especially freedom of expression, right? Some people have said “Your highness” can turn into a fly and could even disappear among crowds...Maaka! If you had magical powers, they would be used to improve and develop the country and the lives of Batswana further instead of the opposite, right?! Or maybe they are used to churn the never-ending supply of blankets?!
Some of your loyalists have barraged me with criticism and said that I have a negative “agenda”. They also say I like tshele. Which Motswana doesn’t like tshele?! One of your loyal individual even said I’m a ‘lost entity’. I suspect he’s confusing me with the popnase girls who entertain them at lodges and hotels. Anyways, I don’t have an agenda you dearest Mmuso! O tloga o simolla go ntima di-tendara. I’m a nice lady. To think that I would wake up and attack you out-of-the-blue is nonsensical.
We can all see that all is not well. Whoever thinks our country is just fine is suffering an extreme case of bolope. Kana Batswana ba bangwe fa ba latlhelwa madinyana kana dibiri ba re ba tshela sentle! Many Batswana are fed up; we are being taken for a ride. Some of our leaders have failed us – they’re just “eating” our money, and having tea and biscuits while thinking how they can line their fat purses.
Our star is fading and we might just turn into another Zimbabwe. We often laughed at and mocked them but in Setswana it’s said: Se tshege yo oleng, mareledi a sa le pele. Look at the situation here: there’s no water, load shedding is the norm, debts are high, corruption, nepotism, blatant modern slavery (internship), moral degeneration is sky high, delayed projects, squandered funds that cannot be accounted for, services are poor, everything is expensive, foreigners are running the show and Batswana are like visitors in their own country. We are now a welfare state; and the gap between the rich and poor is ever-widening. It also creates social class dichotomy because those with sated bellies are convinced that everyone else is lazy, or is a threat to their wealth. We are failing…socially, economically and morally. Those whites are praising us and giving awards but they don’t live here! Even when they visit they use their lots of money and go to tourist areas and stay in posh areas and speak through their nose: Oh, ‘Boswana’ is so good, ja! Owaai!
When you look around at the sea of sad faces milling around, you cannot help but feel disheartened...
Change is inevitable but in the two years that I’ve been back home, I have noticed that things have gone from bad to worse all because of a few power-hungry, greedy folk who are using you to push their dirty agendas and turning our country into a banana republic! Mmuso, if you’ve read Macbeth (Have you?!) you’ll remember the line: Beware the ides of March! I’m telling you: Beware the ideas of March, Mmuso! In life...real life...your greatest friend(s) often turn out to be your greatest enemy; the closest people to you are the most dangerous. Yes, those ones who show their teeth, laugh with you and pat you on the back...Passop! Look what apparently happened to that Jesus character. In your case it’s the “top brass”, they are misguiding you. Some of them are so dodgy that I think they could be Satanists or reptilian, but whatever the case, they are bad news. They need that Bissau dude to punch them and fracture their noses to end their tjatjarag ways!
Like Zimbabweans back then, we hope things will get better. Re batla go nna bo-Thomas-go dumela o bone. Some Batswana suffer passive aggression and are in denial about our situation. Very few people appreciate the truth anyways; we’d rather sugar-coat things, akere? We all wonder what we can do to these “untouchables”. That’s why I’m turning to you Mmuso…Something needs to give... Talk is too cheap...
I love you Mmuso,
Yours sincerely,
Nna, Ole, Ene le Bale.