In astronomical terms, the Earth has almost made a full orbit of the Sun, which is 365 days or one year. Time has flown by, and now it is time to take stock.

This is not a stock-take of what physical items you possess but a stock-take of what you have achieved as a human being, a parent, a child, in your profession, for the church, the village, the family and if you are a political leader, what have you done to serve the people you represent.

The new year is a time of rebirth. From the beginning of 2024, how many people have you helped, how many times have you been a law-abiding citizen, did you help stop the cycle of violence in your community, did you work hard and get a promotion, did you set a good example for your peers and children?

Why should we stock-take ourselves? If it was a difficult year, you can see all you accomplished in the face of adversity. If it was an unusually good year, you can count the amazing total of successes.

As you review, you will find some unfinished business. Seen in the context of all you did accomplish, it’s natural to treat these items as next year’s successes, rather than last year’s failures. This reflection takes a little time, but the time has a payoff.

The stock-take will let you see where you went wrong and how you can do things better. Have you been a good Christian this year? In this stock-take, do not count the number of times you went to church or not or how much money you gave to the church. It is about walking the path shown in the good book.

The annual stock-take is an exercise government officials and elected leaders must do. It would allow them an indication of the things they have done to promote good governance, transparency, accountability and the things they have done to improve the lives of the people.

They need to do this to see how they have delivered their promises in the year. District councils and members of parliament must go back and stock-take how they have spent money given to them for the betterment of the people they serve.

It would be advisable to take into account how many children in the village can access quality education, how many people can get good healthcare or what has been done to improve the socio-economic status of people to put food on their tables.

The national government needs to look at the successes they achieved outside of hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Has the situation at the hospital improved, are there enough doctors, nurses, teachers and people in specialised fields? Is education free now, are children forced to work on the streets because of poverty and what is being done to deal with the meth scourge?

Some laws are needed to be in place, how well did the government do in delivering them? The Land and Titles Court amendments, the Electoral Act amendments, the Child Protect Act, the Information Act, the Anti-Corruption Act and changes to financial laws to allow for e-commerce to take place are some of those that needed to be addressed this year.

This must be a true reflection. We hope that things will be done better next year.