Tribute to Lizo Zola Ngcongco
Friday, April 16, 2021
We were clustered in Office 6, on the fourth floor of the Barclays Bank Building where the Prosecutions Department, of the Attorney General’s Chambers, was housed, before it moved to the grand offices of the Attorneys General’s Chambers Building, and then, to Khama Plaza, its final grave. It was custom then, for those that had no court attendances on a particular day, to meet in that office, where both tea, and wisdom were generously served. It was the perfect cradle for aspiring young prosecutors in the formative years of their careers.
The name Lizo, evoked that feeling, not unlike that felt when a young lawyer first stands alone, before a Judge. It is an experience one can never prepare for. You spend a whole night, quoting the Constitution to a mopstick. The name Lizo Ngcongco had been with me since High School. I had read it over and over again.
While the political shift brings hope for change, it also places immense pressure on the new administration to deliver on its election promises in the face of serious economic challenges.On another level, newly appointed Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe’s grim assessment of the country’s finances adds urgency to the moment. The budget deficit, expected to be P8.7 billion, is now anticipated to be even higher due to underperforming diamond...