By: Kandjengo Mkwaanyoka
I bumped into one of my favourite souls, Martha, at Select Ongwediva around 06h00.
I had been there for two hours since my Silas Ndapuka bus arrived rather early at 04h00, and I had to wait because there is no Yango in the north and taxis start working around 07h00.
CJ Dumeni, I am not an entrepreneur, so I will leave this 24-hour taxi idea to you.
Back to Martha. I was freezing when she arrived with a cab. She was heading to Ondangwa, part of her journey to Indiana for her Mandela Fellowship. During our chit-chat, she said something that stuck with me:
“Many smart young people are procrastinators. They sit on projects and implement the bare minimum.”
That statement was a slap in the face for me—not the smart part, but because I am also part of the “Procrastinators Fellowship.”
I bade her farewell, telling her to come back soon so we could help revive the economy and build a better future.
As I drove back, Martha’s words echoed in my mind. After some introspection, I realised I have been part of the “Procrastinator Fellowship” for so long.
I probably have 30 project proposals at different stages. All I do is postpone them, lacking the urgency to dedicate time to them.
I evaluated my membership in this club, the incomplete project proposals, and the ideas sitting idly in my head. I concluded that procrastination is costing me and my village dearly.
Martha’s observation that the biggest procrastinators are society’s smart and innovative people hit home.
Africa, Namibia, and our constituencies are behind and languishing in poverty, lacking innovation because you and I are the greatest procrastinators.
Yes, there is limited support for our daring ideas, solutions, and entrepreneurial pursuits due to ideological and weak economic-building understanding by those who are supposed to give us a hand.
However, I am convinced, as my friend observed, that many young and smart minds are procrastinating on valuable projects.
Our drive to create and solve Africa and Namibia’s problems is not stimulated enough, with the lack of support and historical injustice playing a role.
Thus, we are reduced to employees, consumers, and beggars even for simple solutions.
To my fellow procrastinators: whatever your reasons are, I truly do not care, but I want you to go complete that project and finish that prototype.
Your villages and continent need you. Once we appreciate the responsibility to rescue our continent from the hands of those with ill economic agendas, we might stop procrastinating.
In my interactions with fellow young people, I discovered that we all have great ideas, but it is the execution and energy to move forward that are the issues. We are great talkers and initiators, but we barely go beyond those stages.
Our procrastination is keeping us below our potential as youth.
Join me in breaking free from the Procrastination Fellowship, attending to my ideas and project proposals to enhance my participation in the economy and reclaim what our ancestors lost.
Yes, I, and all the young people out there, need your reminder of the divine task bestowed on us – to reclaim the economic strength of our people using our brains and hands.
Appreciation goes to all those who daily remind us to finish our degrees, training, and master’s programs and to go pitch our ideas.
Together, we can defeat the procrastination among young people that is costing the continent innovation and solutions.
gerastus16@gmail.com
