Is the cream of the crop… not just a little too expired?

Is the cream of the crop… not just a little too expired?


With the campaigning, or shall we say the silent camouflage tendering for the 2014 presidential candidates take its course, I can’t but sit back and wonder, should we look at our candidates age limit or shall we take that age brings wisdom… (It is far easier to grow old, than to become wiser… - Anonymous)

There is no law prohibiting a candidate from running for election or being elected president due to age, except to be or older than 35. If the candidate is of sound mind and good physical health, they are eligible for election no matter their age. With that said, in our short 22 years of independence we have seen only two elected presidents. The first was 61 years of age when elected, 65 in his second term and then 70 in his final term. Our second president was 69 years old when elected and 75 when re-elected in his second term. As the current stance in the ruling party, come election year 2014 our age pool will be held from the youngest 62 years (and I do apologies for knowing a lady’s age) to the eldest 73 years. Not omitting the other campaigning parties, but if no drastic changes is experienced, this will be our age pool in the running for Presidency.

This should be of no concern to me, but what has me slightly concerned is a recent epiphany to a lingering thought. We vote for a leader, for a President whom to the majority of voters, winning voters, believe they are the best candidate. We see them campaigning our concerns, we see them rallying our frustrations with our current situations, we hear their game plan to rid poverty, to strengthen unity, to build more jobs and decrease unemployment, to root out corruption, the list is endless, but it is what we wish to hear. We see who is going to be our candidate. We wish to hear how someone takes ownership and takes the realms and leads us to a better nation. And although they might only in their term, address 30% of what their platform was based on, then wish to be reelected so they can try harder the next time, but it’s better than nothing (True, but just a side note, we should stop accepting anything better than nothing. It’s not only our mentality towards our government we should change, its towards our self worth, that determines our living standards). So we elect our President, we have him fit into his office, or build a new one, whichever he wishes… we end up paying for it. We let him settle into the affairs of a nation, we let him find his feet, and this all knowing that once he… my deepest apologies or she (our iron lady is also in the running men.) is settled in… will they tackle our frustrations, the ones that he (or) she promised to eradicate. So we wait, and office is taken, other countries get invited to be introduced, our President flies out to announce and mingle, and then it seems something is happening. Through the grape gossiping corridors we hear about change being implemented, we hear that there is something brewing (and no, it’s not that local delicacy), but to our farthest and grimmest thoughts our President falls ill, or has serious heart-kidneys-gout-high blood pressure complications due to the lavish life they live, and is admitted into hospital. Case worsens for our President, and now cabinet is faced with the unthinkable… Protocol “BRAHMAN BULL/COW DOWN” is called on the table. The state now belongs to the Vice, the second in charge, the Prime second, the one no one voted for, the one no one knows where his (or) her stance on the nation lies. The behind the curtains, the chosen one within the party selected by the party and not by the people but for the party, is now the ruler of the country.


Now considering the fact our old veterans, who fought for liberation and independence, and now sitting in prestige positions are gunning for that main role, and not stomping on anyone’s goals or dream achievements, but are we sure we would want more veterans to lead the country. Not anything against their abilities, but merely a concern that in our past 22 years of independence we have had only veterans lead the country, and since the change over from president one to president two in the same ruling party, not much has changed or improved with regards to current affairs. Why? Maybe because the trail of action and re-action is set primary on common thought. No disrespect to our freedom fighters, and all the sacrifice done for this country, but all those years of fighting for the same goal, and now being in the role of leadership, has the goals changed or do they still all think as troopers? As a unit in war, a common goal, objective united their efforts, now the battlefield has changed to the republic champers and the governing of a country, but the same unit, that once had the same objective is the ruling party. In 22 years progress has been made, but the stagniticity of many ailing subjects still remain, or have worsened over the reign of power. We all know the saying, you cannot teach a old dog new tricks, so too with changing the mindset, or goal set of veteran fighters of a liberation struggle.

Like the pursuit for a Utopia, so too is the idealist wishes for a revolutionist to rule the nation. Not a rebel, but a revolutionist, a thinker rather than a brute actionist. We have had brute actionist, they fought, and won our freedom. Yet the ruling, the taking a nation to the next higher level is a task best bestowed upon a thinker, with a acting cabinet made up of actionist. In theory, this is a union that shows a change, a productive and thriving nation. In theory it is endless possibilities that stretch every corner of all crippling frustrations. In theory it is where it will stay until we take that step to making it real.
The world does not belong to the one that holds on longer and tighter to the past, but to the one that changes with the tides.

Good day and good luck.

From the
President’s Desk