EDITORIAL: Firm clarity needed on national honours

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s decision to review state-funded funerals is both timely and necessary. What is at stake is larger than any one individual. It is about restoring the integrity of a system that has, for some time, shown signs of abuse.

For too long, the bar for state-funded funerals and national honours has appeared to drift. Decisions that should be guided by clear, consistent criteria have, at times, seemed uneven – fuelling perceptions of favouritism and political convenience in moments of national grief.

This is precisely why the ongoing review of the national honours framework is so critical. A system designed to recognise exceptional service to the nation must be beyond reproach. It must be governed by standards that are transparent, defensible and impregnable to manipulation.

The president’s stance sends an important signal that restraint, too, is a form of leadership.

By choosing not to act in the absence of a fully reviewed and credible framework, she is reinforcing the principle that national honours are not entitlements, nor are they instruments to appease public sentiment. They are rare distinctions reserved for truly extraordinary contributions.

Equally important is the acknowledgement that past practices may not always have met this threshold. That is not a condemnation of those who were honoured, but rather an honest recognition that the system itself requires strengthening.

The review process must therefore confront this reality head-on. It must close gaps, tighten criteria and establish safeguards that ensure consistency and fairness.

The goal should be a framework that commands public confidence – one where every conferment is clearly justified, and every decision withstands scrutiny.

Protecting the dignity of national honours is about protecting the dignity of the nation itself. And that begins with drawing a clear line in the sand.