As we honoured Nelson Mandela in 2018

Editor: Ladies and gentleman good night! I am honoured to stand with you, in celebrating the contribution of the late Nelson Mandela. He certainly endeavoured to make a difference for good. It could be said that he expended himself in the mission.

It is to be hoped that this recognition of the work of men and women like Nelson Mandela who have contributed to the development of people of African decent will continue. The exercise, if pursued with maturity holds promise for the positive and honoured advancement of our people.

One cannot help but reflect on what seemed years ago to be a movement driven by sincere desire to sensitize our people of their real worth, arousing in them, a consciousness of their true origins.

But those who in yesteryear seemed spiritually prepared and mentally equipped to sustain the necessary thrust have seemingly found the inducement of the opportunity for the promoting and securing of their own personal welfare too strong to resist. We could say now, as it were, the lure of enrichment was too strong to be restrained by the leashes of principle and integrity.

So, we have not made the progress on which path we had seemed resolutely to be pursuing five or six decades ago. The point at which we are now seems to be dictating the need for serious national conversations, which will help us to determine the way forward which offers a reasonable chance of success.

No citizen can reasonably exclude himself/herself when it is so obvious that there is need for retrieval

if the next generations are not to blame us for the disaster.

LeRoy Providence