A New Year...

By: Political Perspective

EACH year I promise to go calmly into the new one. Each year I fail.

Inevitably, the shutdown of virtually the entire country over this

period gets to me and I am once again reminded of why we cannot

make an economic success of things in Namibia.

Global and other disasters can strike with a vengeance, but

nothing seems to rouse our country, and Government in particular,

from its month-long year-end torpor.

 

With the prevalent lethargy, is it any surprise that we really

can't get our act together? WHILE the President and his entourage

pull copious amounts of fish from the sea off Terrace Bay, and the

Prime Minister relaxes in Swakop on what is euphemistically termed

a 'working holiday', you would be hard-pressed to find committed

civil servants who are back on the job at this time of year.

 

The UN's Kofi Annan at least cut short his holiday because of

the tsunami crisis, even though Tony Blair didn't; but I'm not sure

what disaster would have to strike Namibia to get our political

leadership back to work.

 

They certainly weren't bothered much about this huge natural

disaster, and took their time to issue statements to this

effect.

 

Every new year I'm reminded of the priorities for this country,

which include the tackling of the unemployment problem, corruption

and the AIDS pandemic.

 

There remains little light at the end of the tunnel in regard to

all three, so perhaps a different approach is needed.

 

For example, the overall of lack of work ethic needs to be

challenged.

 

The President and the Prime aren't going to do it, for while

they may make statements to this effect from time to time, they

don't lead by example, and the attempt to term the Prime Minister's

vacation a 'working holiday' just won't wash.

 

Just because he receives the odd visitor or takes the occasional

phone call.

 

This is work?? So, if I had my way I'd dramatically alter the

Labour Code, because the increased provision for annual leave is

going to move us further along the road of breeding a lazy bunch of

bums.

 

Annual leave shouldn't just be a blanket number of days for

all.

 

It should depend on the type of job, hours worked, years served,

etc.

 

So I'd immediately work on this, because yes, it IS a problem

for this country! Then instead of condemning corruption and citing

endless stats about how it has increased, I would make darn sure

that people who are guilty of malpractice, nepotism and graft do

services for the community.

 

Hard labour on the railway line until the damn thing is

finished, would be just one place the country could send all these

exploiters of our people.

 

Then we don't have to worry anymore about the occasional company

PR event that sends its CEO up north to hold a spade for a few

hours to show they've 'done their bit' for the development of the

country.

 

I'd also try and breed more of a culture of caring, which can

also help bridge the gap between rich and poor because we've

developed an 'each-man-for-himself'-type selfish psyche.

 

We need to give more and help the less fortunate in our

society.

 

All the employed and well-to-do people need to perform some kind

of volunteer work in the community and share both their skills and

their profits.

 

The private sector could take the lead in this regard.

 

Government won't, and are simply protecting those who abuse our

resources, for they are seldom taken to task.

 

We need to remind ourselves that we are not least-developed.

 

We don't need the UN and other agencies to keep pointing out to

us that the gap is increasing between rich and poor in Namibia

while we sit back and do nothing about it.

 

It hasn't got to do with black or white.

 

It's got to do with all of us and what more we can do in our own

right to make Namibia a better place to be, and to try and improve

the lot of those who make up the less fortunate half of the

equation.

 

We must stop empowering the already empowered, for that is what

is currently happening; and stop shielding the fraudsters; and

thinking we are entitled to long leave and huge benefits while the

country's resources are being whittled away and we try to find

scapegoats in history.

 

We can also try to be more honest about our contribution, or

lack thereof.

 

Admit we are not doing as much as we can or could to change

things for the better.

 

And going back to an honest day's work is a good start!

 

Global and other disasters can strike with a vengeance, but nothing

seems to rouse our country, and Government in particular, from its

month-long year-end torpor.With the prevalent lethargy, is it any

surprise that we really can't get our act together? WHILE the

President and his entourage pull copious amounts of fish from the

sea off Terrace Bay, and the Prime Minister relaxes in Swakop on

what is euphemistically termed a 'working holiday', you would be

hard-pressed to find committed civil servants who are back on the

job at this time of year.The UN's Kofi Annan at least cut short his

holiday because of the tsunami crisis, even though Tony Blair

didn't; but I'm not sure what disaster would have to strike Namibia

to get our political leadership back to work.They certainly weren't

bothered much about this huge natural disaster, and took their time

to issue statements to this effect.Every new year I'm reminded of

the priorities for this country, which include the tackling of the

unemployment problem, corruption and the AIDS pandemic.There

remains little light at the end of the tunnel in regard to all

three, so perhaps a different approach is needed.For example, the

overall of lack of work ethic needs to be challenged.The President

and the Prime aren't going to do it, for while they may make

statements to this effect from time to time, they don't lead by

example, and the attempt to term the Prime Minister's vacation a

'working holiday' just won't wash.Just because he receives the odd

visitor or takes the occasional phone call.This is work?? So, if I

had my way I'd dramatically alter the Labour Code, because the

increased provision for annual leave is going to move us further

along the road of breeding a lazy bunch of bums.Annual leave

shouldn't just be a blanket number of days for all.It should depend

on the type of job, hours worked, years served, etc.So I'd

immediately work on this, because yes, it IS a problem for this

country! Then instead of condemning corruption and citing endless

stats about how it has increased, I would make darn sure that

people who are guilty of malpractice, nepotism and graft do

services for the community.Hard labour on the railway line until

the damn thing is finished, would be just one place the country

could send all these exploiters of our people.Then we don't have to

worry anymore about the occasional company PR event that sends its

CEO up north to hold a spade for a few hours to show they've 'done

their bit' for the development of the country.I'd also try and

breed more of a culture of caring, which can also help bridge the

gap between rich and poor because we've developed an

'each-man-for-himself'-type selfish psyche.We need to give more and

help the less fortunate in our society.All the employed and

well-to-do people need to perform some kind of volunteer work in

the community and share both their skills and their profits.The

private sector could take the lead in this regard.Government won't,

and are simply protecting those who abuse our resources, for they

are seldom taken to task.We need to remind ourselves that we are

not least-developed.We don't need the UN and other agencies to keep

pointing out to us that the gap is increasing between rich and poor

in Namibia while we sit back and do nothing about it.It hasn't got

to do with black or white.It's got to do with all of us and what

more we can do in our own right to make Namibia a better place to

be, and to try and improve the lot of those who make up the less

fortunate half of the equation.We must stop empowering the already

empowered, for that is what is currently happening; and stop

shielding the fraudsters; and thinking we are entitled to long

leave and huge benefits while the country's resources are being

whittled away and we try to find scapegoats in history.We can also

try to be more honest about our contribution, or lack thereof.Admit

we are not doing as much as we can or could to change things for

the better.And going back to an honest day's work is a good start!

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