The issue of productivity is a vital and yet often under-emphasised aspect of our economy, and takes on particular relevance in a case like this week, where the country has basically been brought to a standstill by three public holidays, which has resulted in a large number of businesses being closed for the duration and of course Namibians taking leave for this period.

Such a lost week must have serious implications for loss of revenue over this time, and it is perhaps significant that even an institution such as the Namibia Economic Policy Research Unit (Nepru) announced that it would close its doors for the week.

So for all President Pohamba's talk of the importance of productivity, he made no mention of the first week of May, to all intents and purposes a write-off in terms of this precise concept.

One of the holidays contributing towards this non-week, was in fact Workers' Day, a day annually commemorated by workers the world over.

Yet in Namibia, we could just as well drop this public holiday from our calendar for all the interest workers display in the event.

Turnout was once again poor at rallies held on Workers' Day, and it is not known whether this phenomenon can be attributed to total worker apathy or bad organisation on the part of the unions themselves, or both.

Given this fact, there should be no reason why Workers' Day need be a public holiday.

Other countries in the world commemorate the day on the Sunday, as it fell this year, and yet did not get the additional advantage of a day off on the Monday following.

But in Namibia, where increased productivity is essential if we want to build up the economy and strengthen it in these hard times, there is an apparent lack of concern with job losses in, among others, the fishing sector, if the poor May Day turnout is anything to judge by.

In fact, we need to take a serious look at revising our annual calendar of public holidays.

In this week alone, two of the three non-working days were May Day and Ascension Day, neither of which really warrants a public holiday if the truth be told.

The three days did not fall consecutively, and for this reason, placed many businesses in the predicament this week of having to decide whether to close or not.

Some decided to remain open, or at least open half day, despite these holidays; but many shut down for over a week.

It is well nigh impossible to build up productivity in times such as these, and most companies, despite an open door on the working days in between the public holidays, must surely have suffered a substantial decline in revenue.

Let alone the private sector, we shudder to think how many Government employees were on leave during this period.

Whether workers are aware of it or not, this certainly has an effect on the company's own viability, especially for smaller and more economically vulnerable businesses, but we trust the NCCI and Nepru, among others, will give us guidance on what this lost week has cost the country.

As President Pohamba said: "It is only through productive work that our economy can grow and expand and thereby create more employment opportunities for the thousands of Namibians who remain unemployed."

In short, our economy cannot grow without hard work and productivity, and unfortunately it appears that the national psyche is not yet attuned to the importance of these concepts.

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