Success squatters, and squatters in general

Dear Editor,
In recent times, there has been a lot of talk about squatting, especially about the Success squatters. It is not surprising that those who have lost politically are attempting to use this incident, as with every other situation, to send out their scouts of evil to excite people to misbehave and cause pandemonium. One can clearly see that their obvious aim is to poison the minds of citizens so as to cause them to harbour hate for the Government of the day.
However, little do these evil scouts and supporters know that their targets may very well have a change of heart; and, in the long run, the brilliance of the Government, especially in the manner in which I see them working, would easily win these people over.
That said, I wish to highlight the fact that the Government is doing everything it can to pacify the squatters, and, at the same time, to save billions of dollars in experimental sugar cane, having already lost more than $2B.
People must realise there is something called law. The law cannot be modified just because a person thinks they want a piece of land, or that they are in a state of poverty, therefore they can violate the law.
This writer is of the view that we need to create strategies and put things in place to try to uphold law and order. Because of this, I was initially of the opinion that charges should have been brought against those people who started squatting, simply because they ruined more than $2B of investment in experimental sugar cane.
However, the Government, with love for its citizens, seems to have sidelined what I thought would have been done. I admire them for this, as I know that some other Government might have prosecuted these people.
What is unfortunate is that some people just want to be given things, just like that. They do not want to go through the process. They need to realise that roads, water, electricity etc. are all needed. We do not want to build small pieces of ugly shantytowns that are without garbage collection, village management, or NDC control.
Honorable Prime Minister Mark Phillips must be given kudos for encouraging the idea of using temporary shelter when the Government is trying to rapidly fast track these squatters. However, it is my opinion that the Government made a mistake by announcing it was going to give these people cash. I assume that this would attract a lot of people, many of whom already have houses and families where they live. This, I believe, would make some people behave as though they do not already own these things, just so as to get some extra cash and maybe a piece of land.
I believe that people in need must be able to support themselves. I also believe that if one wants a house and land, one must sacrifice, as is done around the world, where people pursue double shifts just so they can live. That is how most of us who have homes did it — by not expecting the Government to just give us everything. As the Holy Quran teaches us: “Laisa lil insana illa ma sa’a,” meaning: “there is nothing for man except what he strives for” (Quran 53:39). This verse is the secret to human achievement.
No one will achieve success without struggle and hard work. It instills in us the conviction that sitting idle will not produce any rewards.
Lastly, as I said above, our President and Government do not have magic wands, nor are they Gods. People need to learn to trust the process; and, with time, the Government would surely win the hearts and minds of its naysayers.

Sincerely,
Roshan Khan Snr