04/07/2022
HAPPY NATIONAL HEROES DAY
I join the nation in celebrating all our great leaders and those who believed in their efforts at all levels.
Many of these heroes are not alive, some are in the evening of their lives and others continue to fight on riding on the strength of youth. Some of these heroes are right within our families, in our local churches, in our communities, our schools, the work place, the private sector, the public sector , in the political circles and indeed abroad.
Thank you for remembering the cause for a better Zambia which is far from completion but never the less nearer to us because you acted on your conviction even when it meant risking all you had for the Zambia we want and need.
Fellow country men, we must remember and honor the sacrifices made by our heroes now and in the days to come. We must cherish the positive side of our history and learn from our past mistakes in the belief that Zambia is above individual interest or sympathy. Let us build on the good foundation we have found. Remember that the beauty of a tree or plant lies in the strength of the roots.
Zambia like other developing countries pauses a great mamoth task to the heroes who are still alive. The greatest calling of any leader and heroe lies in the correct exploitation of the good potential within themselves and others. I think it remains unfortunate that the majority of our leaders today are concetrating on trivial matters rather than the great task of exploiting the good potential of our land. Martin Luther said ' we are not supposed to maximize the minimum'.
Heroes must identify the need of the day and seek to underscore the importance of collective effort in resolving the challenges we confront. If the corruption fight crusade of the current administration is left to a few individuals, we haven't begun to correct anything in that regard. Opposition figures should never be treated as enemies but it takes courage to look at your opposition in the eye to sift truth from their submission which carries the taste of bitterness. Without opposition, there can be no meaningful progress but I think that genuine leaders cannot afford to be distracted from the need of the day because of opposition.
The leader and heroe of our day finds themselves in a challenging moment on this restless sea of time. We have population growth in exponential terms which basically will continue to strain available resources in the nation, we have the information age pausing a great threat on the moral standing of our young people, we have the high cost of doing business which is daily chocking the dreams of young entrepreneurs, we have the high cost of living and the potential increased cases of broken families, we still confront high levels of unemployment to mention but a few things. These issues are not going away, if leaders do not have a honest conversation followed up by the implementation of a detailed formal plan which should not be naively expected to root out all our problems, we risk handing over a broken society to the next generation of heroes.
Zambian present and future heroes owe themselves the realistic target of making their nation better. They should not expect any external interests or influence to better their future. There are no easy answers to the challenges faced by this precious nation but I believe together we can if we only we ride on the wings of unity of purpose.
HAPPY HEROES DAY
