As Best As World�s Best

Monitor Editor | Monday August 7, 2017 10:37

The world spectacle could not have come at a better time for Botswana, with the nation still reeling in shock from the reverberations of the internal wranglings in the opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). The scent of victory at the world games   could be whatv the doctor ordered to soothe broken hearts and dashed hopes.  The blue, black and white will temporarily banish the opposition shenanigans and unite in celebrations of a medal haul by the likes of Nijel Amos, Amantle Montsho, Lydia Jele, Isaac Makwala and Baboloki Thebe.

The hearts of Batswana have never needed something this badly. In between the joys of world championship medals, the nation would be hoping that mediation efforts to stabilise relations in the UDC bear fruit, hopefully, for good.

That the UDC power wrangling has badly rocked the nation’s mood cannot be denied, for one can feel the palpable anger, frustration and despondency thick in the air. For an opposition heavily tipped as the next government to disintegrate like this, supposedly on the eve of its ascension to power in 2019, is more than heart-breaking for the progressive minds aching for the first change of guard since Independence.

As expected, the wranglings are not to do with bread and butter issues for the masses. This pushing and shoving is for personal gains. It has become so dirty that mistrust is everywhere.

The nation has been pitted against one another, and the tension is potentially explosive with catastrophic consequences.

The sooner the situation is amicably resolved, the better, not only for the opposition but also for the entire nation. In the meantime, we pray our boys and girls at the world championships endow us us with a bunch of new medals as a short-term panacea to take away the pain of the political misery engulfing us.