Political Perspective
THE hypocrisy and double standards around the issue of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), with the University of Namibia now wading in to join the political fray, is almost too much to bear. Because of a fairly controversial report on our recent elections and the invitation of opposition leaders to a seminar abroad, said Foundation is now being portrayed as a virtual enemy of the state.
NOT surprising was the fact that the usual firebrands in Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) and National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) set the ball rolling on this one, with accusations left, right and centre. That Prime Minister Nahas Angula also waded in on the debate did cause some consternation as this was seen to be largely out of character, but perhaps some of the beleaguered ‘elders’ in Swapo are trying to please the more extreme factions!
The whole storm in a teacup just seems to be such a non-issue. I mean, so what if the group critiques our elections? Also so what if they host a seminar of African opposition parties in Germany? Isn’t opposition an integral part of the democracy we claim to support? So necessary in fact that our Government saw fit even to fund opposition parties as they do based on their seats in Parliament? What, really, I ask myself, is the problem here?
But then I’m not really shocked that the Foundation is on the receiving end because the anti-foreigner tirades are already equated with certain reactionary groups, especially in the ruling party. And mostly they’ve been the recipients of the same groups they afterwards condemn. Witness Uutoni Nujoma himself having been on a KAS-sponsored trip to Belgium! And many other Swapo leaders too. Again, more evidence of the hypocrisy and double standards that are so commonly practised in our politics.
So while the SPYL and NUNW tirades didn’t really surprise me, the UNAM issue did, refusing as they did, funding for an environmental workshop from KAS. After all, this is our university, supposedly a think-tank and academic centre where debate should be the order of the day and research and innovation the business of this institution, challenging the minds of the youth and urging them to intellectual heights for the sake of themselves, their country and their people. Instead, apparently, we want to encourage closed minds and confinement to ruling party doctrine and dogma.
How can we be proud of such an institution, and how can we expect students of the highest calibre to emerge from such a place?
Additionally the furore around this matter has conveniently shifted attention away from the huge social crisis we face in this country, most importantly the 50 per cent unemployment rate. And isn’t that perhaps what it’s all about? An attempt to divert attention from our own failings to scapegoating others, especially if they’re of foreign origin.
We are truly schizophrenic in a national sense and we need to get a grip! Our own Speaker of Parliament is proudly heralded as the head of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), and travels far and wide in this capacity. What nonsense do we make of his work when we are rapidly getting a reputation as an intolerant and xenophobic society?
Yes, KAS is a political research foundation linked to the conservative German Christian Democratic Union (CDU), but there should be room in our hearts and our country for all manner of diverse organisations, especially if they are assisting us in our development. There are many others present in Namibia, from US-based foundations to others of European origin, and while we may not agree with everything they do, they nevertheless have the right to exist here and offer their assistance to us in a range of different areas, from elections to environment and democracy to building civil society – the list is endless. We note recently that the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), which, as most are aware, is US funded, announced it is funding textbooks to the tune of N$534 million for our schools. Instead of SPYL and the NUNW asking the question as to why we can’t do it ourselves (and we know just how crucial the shortage is!) they’ll probably, at some point or another, condemn this ‘imperialist’ act too. Why too, did our political leadership take up, with such alacrity, the Chinese scholarships for their already privileged offspring?!
We are truly confused. And that the leadership is deliberately sowing the seeds, seems to me to be designed to keep our people in the dark. In this way they can always manipulate the minds of our populace rather than open them up to let the sun shine in!