Sakaria Kadhikwa
ONE is reflecting on the past two decades of living in a free society where there are neither spooks lurking in the dark nor prohibition of people to walk at night or to live where they do not want to stay. The dream of freedom has become real and is touchable. As we mark another anniversary of being free, especially those who were not so born free, you and I who are still freely living should, and must, show our appreciation to Nature for making us free living beings, for providing free space, a free ‘omgewing’ that gives us free oxygen. Free water, free food, free daylight and dark nights. Many appreciate these free provisions while others take these for granted, without worrying that one day these might be charged for. You know everyone likes to have something for free that’s why in this dotcomma age or bookface era there are free cell time, free short messaging not to mention free moola for maintaining the connection.
These are the freebies that ‘vryheid’ brought to the born-frees who arrived just after the dawn of freedom. Many have waited for post-liberation promises, for the land where every citizen will have a tap of fresh milk and a swimming pool of fruit juice. This year seems to be one of a thousand promises and implementation, when one has seen free tuition for lower primary while in uniform, I mean ‘skooldrag’ without shoes if need be. Eish, and now that it is an ‘erection’ year the ‘omauvaneko’ or manifestos are bound to be heard from all hopefuls.
When the free people are going to cast away their decision-making powers to others come end of 2014 , a bombshell has been dropped that ‘elongo’ or education will see a complete metamorphosis, in that it will be free up to secondary level, minus the school uniform. ‘Omake’ to the taxpayers for making this possible with their golden ‘maliwa’.
Now all the born-frees and those yet to be born are all smiling, because they will have no reason to refuse to attend classes because the ‘zalies and topies’ had no ‘ching’ to put them through school. Except if the born-frees will now blame lack of school uniforms for not attending classes. And in this dotacomma era-cum-millennium, this generation must not afford to be literally illiterate for no reason, because ‘eemwandi’ where others used to stop on the way to school in ‘tooka’ years do not bear a lot these days, I am not sure. ‘Yakuluntu’ now there is no reason why we cannot send these ‘digital kids’ to classes to go and learn because the money mountain has been moved, those with cattle and goats that have not been sent to ‘ohambo’ can look after them until ‘de’ school is out, eish these days there is also compulsory study time too, well [natu litheni ashike tseyene] just look after those ‘iimuna’ ourselves. Without paying for tuition , the bucks that was budgeted for school fees should be put in the bank not under the ‘mattras’ or in the jam bottle to wait for these guys to study grade 25 somewhere at Polytech or Unam or outside the land. If this five line repetitive speech has hit you below the breadline, sorry ngoo I was exercising my rights to free speech, as you know this land is first on mama Africa when it comes to freedom of ‘kupopya’ , as long as the border has not been crossed. With that raise your water glasses to toast the 24th anniversary of being a free people, keep the free fire of freedom burning and do not douse it with the golden liquid, Alikana. Eewa