Turning words into action

Today officially marks President Hage Geingob’s first 100 days in office since taking over from President Hifikepunye Pohamba on March 21. There has been a massive weight of expectation. Although he made a number of pledges throughout his presidential campaign, some challenges may not be easily addressed. Yes, we are aware of the fact that real change takes time to become apparent, but 100 days in office seems to have become a yardstick for measuring progress or lack thereof, in terms of a Head of State. It is fair to say that the President had his work cut out when he assumed the number one citizen role. He has been part of the system for many years and knew exactly what was happening. Following his election in 2012 as Swapo vice-president, Geingob was instantly promoted to Prime Minister by Pohamba - a move largely seen as a way of preparing him for State House. Geingob has received praise for his unconditional war on poverty, although we still in the dark as to how the new Ministry of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare will take up this huge challenge. The increasing cost of living remains an issue and government must see to it that Namibians from all walks of life are provided with basic services such as health, education, water and electricity. Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Sophia Shaningwa, has been making the right noises as far as land delivery is concerned. This is a burning issue and there is no time for procrastination. The powers that be should go straight to the nub of issue and reward those that voted for them with effective delivery. We have all these excellent ideas on how we aspire to run things, but there is little action. It is high time we turn words into action.