We Can Do Better This Year
By: Editorial CommentWHEN President-in-waiting Hifikepunye Pohamba takes over from incumbent President Sam Nujoma in March, he has the opportunity to make a tangible difference on a number of fronts when he grasps the reins of power if he chooses to do so.
A hesitant or timid approach will not win the battle against
corruption or succeed in propelling the country into a state of
economic wellbeing.
Decisive leadership is called for in an attempt to reverse what
has become a rapid downward trend.
The year has already started with reports of corruption and
these are bound to escalate as 2005 progresses.
While President Nujoma did show some intent to deal with
corruption, mismanagement and graft by instituting various
commissions and probes into wayward parastatals and State Owned
Enterprises, and, most recently, ordering an audit into the
finances of the movie to be based on his book 'Were Others
Wavered', there has been scant follow-through beyond the inquiries
themselves.
In this sense, his attempts to tackle the scourge of corruption
have largely been window-dressing, and costly window-dressing at
that.
In some cases the commissions cost the country more than the
instances of graft they were set up to probe.
No one could argue the cost to the country of increased cases of
mismanagement and graft, and always at the expense of burning
priorities that then have to be set aside because of 'lack of
funds'.
Job creation in the national sense is a priority; but it has to
be measured against affordability.
Government itself remains top-heavy and bureaucratic and
political leadership has acknowledged the need to cut back in this
regard.
We need to make Government and its related agencies affordable,
cost-effective and efficient, and creation of jobs should be
happening outside this sector, where the taxpayer is not ultimately
footing the bill.
President Pohamba comes into office with the clear intent to do
something about graft.
He needs to stick to his words from the outset and should he
decide to immediately and proactively embark upon such a campaign,
will enjoy the support of many, including this newspaper.
We have no further use for lip service and promises that are not
kept.
We need a President who is going to come into office and make a
clean sweep when it comes to matters of corruption, regardless of
who commits it and even if they are in the top political
echelons.
We would actively encourage the incoming President to rise to
the challenge of what will be one of the major priorities of his
Government, and do all within his power to deal with this scourge
once and for all and to relentlessly pursue all incidents of this
nature to their logical conclusion.
Mandela Does It Again FORMER South African President Nelson
Mandela characteristically exhibits leadership qualities that are
renowned throughout the world and rightfully earned him the Nobel
Peace Prize.
This week he did it again when he publicly announced that his
only surviving son had died of AIDS-related causes.
Only a few African leaders have set an example as far as the
HIV-AIDS pandemic is concerned, and they include former Zambian
President Kenneth Kaunda, who made a similar admission some years
back.
Why is it important for African leaders to take a stance on this
dreaded disease? Primarily because the fight against the pandemic,
which is robbing this continent of hundreds of thousands of lives
each year, is one in which success is hard to measure.
In addition, the stigma persists and many people die unwanted
and uncared-for because their families cannot or will not accept
the cause of their passing.
People of such high standing as Mandela can achieve a lot in
tackling the stigma and the neglect that often characterises the
lives of AIDS sufferers, by admitting that their own family members
have died because of just that reason.
Other leaders have had opportunities to do the same, but have
chosen not to make public pronouncements and thereby assist in
tackling this pandemic.
We commend Mandela, and those before him, such as Kaunda, for
leading the way.
Decisive leadership is called for in an attempt to reverse what has
become a rapid downward trend.The year has already started with
reports of corruption and these are bound to escalate as 2005
progresses.While President Nujoma did show some intent to deal with
corruption, mismanagement and graft by instituting various
commissions and probes into wayward parastatals and State Owned
Enterprises, and, most recently, ordering an audit into the
finances of the movie to be based on his book 'Were Others
Wavered', there has been scant follow-through beyond the inquiries
themselves.In this sense, his attempts to tackle the scourge of
corruption have largely been window-dressing, and costly
window-dressing at that.In some cases the commissions cost the
country more than the instances of graft they were set up to
probe.No one could argue the cost to the country of increased cases
of mismanagement and graft, and always at the expense of burning
priorities that then have to be set aside because of 'lack of
funds'.Job creation in the national sense is a priority; but it has
to be measured against affordability.Government itself remains
top-heavy and bureaucratic and political leadership has
acknowledged the need to cut back in this regard.We need to make
Government and its related agencies affordable, cost-effective and
efficient, and creation of jobs should be happening outside this
sector, where the taxpayer is not ultimately footing the
bill.President Pohamba comes into office with the clear intent to
do something about graft.He needs to stick to his words from the
outset and should he decide to immediately and proactively embark
upon such a campaign, will enjoy the support of many, including
this newspaper.We have no further use for lip service and promises
that are not kept.We need a President who is going to come into
office and make a clean sweep when it comes to matters of
corruption, regardless of who commits it and even if they are in
the top political echelons.We would actively encourage the incoming
President to rise to the challenge of what will be one of the major
priorities of his Government, and do all within his power to deal
with this scourge once and for all and to relentlessly pursue all
incidents of this nature to their logical conclusion.Mandela Does
It Again FORMER South African President Nelson Mandela
characteristically exhibits leadership qualities that are renowned
throughout the world and rightfully earned him the Nobel Peace
Prize.This week he did it again when he publicly announced that his
only surviving son had died of AIDS-related causes.Only a few
African leaders have set an example as far as the HIV-AIDS pandemic
is concerned, and they include former Zambian President Kenneth
Kaunda, who made a similar admission some years back.Why is it
important for African leaders to take a stance on this dreaded
disease? Primarily because the fight against the pandemic, which is
robbing this continent of hundreds of thousands of lives each year,
is one in which success is hard to measure.In addition, the stigma
persists and many people die unwanted and uncared-for because their
families cannot or will not accept the cause of their
passing.People of such high standing as Mandela can achieve a lot
in tackling the stigma and the neglect that often characterises the
lives of AIDS sufferers, by admitting that their own family members
have died because of just that reason.Other leaders have had
opportunities to do the same, but have chosen not to make public
pronouncements and thereby assist in tackling this pandemic.We
commend Mandela, and those before him, such as Kaunda, for leading
the way.