“Go back and fix the wrongs reflected in the Mirror”

Date: 15 January 2015   Read: 863

It is 2015 and I want to applaud this newspaper that had us participate in governance and development around us.

The paper carried our agony and disappointments. It shook us how a people can set and do nothing when young kids are abducted and their bodies are found decomposed days latter. This paper made us look in the mirror and see the toxic mix in our communities. Do you break the mirror for the image it beams back at you? No! you go back and fix whatever it is the mirror portrayed.

In Wizard of the Crow, Ngugi makes a point of the healing power of a mirror in the hands of one trained to use it to diagnose and heal conditions so debilitating as one who has words stuck in their throat. The use of the mirror assisted one who suffered from uttering consistent  "ifs" without completing a sentence to face his condition. True to the name, theMirror did the same for some of us. 

We were given something to laugh about and ease the pain, so we can  handle the next day's challenges. From potholes in our streets and not-so-good-for-human-consumption water. From kids attending schools under a tree to the successes of Mbilwi High School.

The men and women who risked their lives to bring these stories cannot be thanked enough in their endeavour to sharpen the democratic space, the right to know, though at times their lives are at constant threat.

As we start the new year, is it this right to know that we have to protect. So far, our democracy is fast maturing and officials are mature enough to take criticism. Honest criticism that reflects on shoddy workmanship and contract offered in conditions far from honest. It is in this year that the true, lived stories of our teachers must come to the fore. It is in the call for the pensioners who are available to assist with extra classes, seeing their role in the ongoing development of projects of our respective communities.

Mirror, oh! mirror on the wall. Some love to hate you and others, in the honesty of their hearts, accept the reality you present as a challenge to act and think differently. Where some say that paper is condescending, others are saying we see the complexities in our communities. It is critical though to note that, the mirror tells no lies.

From a leadership point of view, from Musina to the last village the Mirror covers, leadership is better in partnership with the Mirror. As opposed to an adversarial relationship, round-table discussions would be more enriching and empowering for the growth of our democracy. May this mirror shine on us as it reflect our true selves. 

- Sello Madima (083 605 5785), Director at the Department of Human Settlements writes in his personal capacity. (Letter shortened - Ed)

 

 

Preference is given to short, factual letter concerning local matters. The editor reserves the right to shorten letters.

Click here to email us your letter.

Anonymous letters, where no details such as the name and address of the writer are supplied, will not be considered for publication. Readers who wish to remain anonymous must indicate this in the letter, but must still provide their details. Such detail will be confidential and will not be made available to outside parties.