Sometimes, I wonder if some of our leaders hold meetings to discuss development or to compete for the award of Most Creative Way to Confuse Citizens.
Because honestly, some of the things we hear in the name of empowerment deserve their own comedy show! The word empowerment sounds serious, right? It should mean giving people the tools, money, or opportunities they need to improve their lives. Helping someone learn a skill, start a business, or get a job is a good example.
But these days, some empowerment stories make me wonder whether the dictionary has secretly changed the meaning of the word. Imagine hearing about a government empowerment programme where people receive plastic buckets and basins as support.
Of course, buckets and basins are useful, nobody wants to fetch water with their bare hands. But imagine being a graduate who has been searching for a job for five years, only to attend an empowerment event and return home proudly carrying a bucket.You enter the house, your family asks, "So, what did they give you?"You answer, "Empowerment!" They ask, "How much?"You say, "One bucket and two basins."Everybody just keeps quiet.
Then imagine another empowerment programme where people are given one-day motivational training, a certificate, and a handshake. You attend the seminar, listen to speeches about how successful you will become, take pictures with important people, and collect your certificate.
By the time you get home, you are fully motivated. Your confidence is at 100%. Your dreams are bigger than ever, but your bank account? Still showing the same old zero. You now have a certificate proving that you were empowered, but your stomach is asking when the empowerment will start producing food.
Don't get me wrong, buckets are useful, training is important, and motivation can help people. The problem is when these things are presented as the big solution to problems that require much more serious support, because how exactly are we empowering people if they return home with a souvenir but no realistic way to earn a living?
Meanwhile, young people are roaming the streets looking for work. Graduates are submitting CVs until their email accounts are tired of seeing the word "Application." Small business owners are struggling with the cost of goods, transport, electricity, and rent.
Some people have good business ideas but no capital to start, others already have businesses but need affordable loans, better equipment, or access to customers.These are the people who need practical support.
Imagine an empowerment programme that provides young people with proper vocational training, helps traders expand their businesses, gives farmers the tools they need, or supports small businesses with startup grants and useful mentorship.Now that would be something worth celebrating
Even better, imagine a government checking back after six months to find out how many people actually benefited. How many businesses survived? How many people found jobs? How many families became financially stable? That is when empowerment begins to look like something more than a headline and a photo opportunity.
Of course, not every unusual programme is useless, and sometimes we may not know the full story behind a particular initiative. But when public money is involved, citizens should be able to ask questions about the purpose, cost, and actual results.
But seriously, real empowerment should leave people with more opportunities, not just more things to carry home. Anyway, let me drop the microphone here before somebody accuses me of disturbing the empowerment department.
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