Political Perspective
By: Gwen Lister
AT TIMES we tend to live in the past, and at others, we forget our history completely. There surely must be a happy medium.
When it suits us we attribute our lack of progress to the continued negative consequences of the ‘struggle’ and ‘apartheid’ era instead of looking forward, putting shoulder to the wheel and building a strong and prosperous country. On the other hand we tend to forget the things we fought against, such as the ‘bantustanisation’ of Namibia, and we begin to give credence to the ‘divide and rule’ policies that we opposed for so many decades.
It’s against this background that I view the ludicrous proposals being made to the Delimitation Commission for the creation of more regions and constituencies as both dangerously tribalistic as well as opportunistic and wasteful. One such plan, apparently backed by King Immanuel Kauluma Elifas, for what would primarily be an Ondonga tribal region, is being justified by a spokesperson to bring ‘government closer to the people’. Which is absurd.
If government needs to get closer to the people of this country – as is certainly the case in more than just one region – then something needs to be done to make this happen, like more effective service delivery for example, but not the creation of more regions. As it is, we have 13 regions and regional governments and a second chamber of parliament, all of which are designed to do exactly what proponents of the proposed new region intend.
Has anyone bothered to establish whether these regional governments and plethora of councillors and governors and whatnot, actually help bring services to our people or whether, in fact, they may hinder delivery because of a lack of a mandate and the burgeoning expenses of our multi-tiered government system? Put into the mix all the traditional and tribal leaders and splinter factions also clamouring for recognition, and the people will be totally forgotten in the process!
What is important in our country are services that directly impact Namibians and these are mostly municipal or council level, and this is where service delivery can be improved, and not by creating more and more layers between local and national government.
What is perhaps even more astounding in this latest folly, is the suggestion that the Ondonga Traditional Authority proposal is being driven by the younger generation rather than the elders. Perhaps the youth do need to be reminded of where we came from and the deep divisions that have scarred our people as a result of apartheid and separate development, the Odendaal Plan, and all the other machinations of the colonial government to divide and therefore make the Namibian people easier to dominate, as they exploited our differences at the expense of our unity.
It sounds as though there is clear tribal and indeed political motive behind this plan. Why on earth, for example, would one name a region, which should be absolutely neutral for administrative and other reasons, after Peter Nanyemba, a controversial leader of the former People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN)? I also believe it is yet another manifestation of what is fast becoming a favourite past-time of Namibians, which is the jockeying for positions and power and salaries and influence for economic gain.
Apart from the dangers of creating more tribal tensions in our country as a whole (and we have a multiplicity of ethnic groups as it is which may also follow suit in the demand for ‘own’ regions) the plan will certainly also exacerbate tensions in the north.
There may be rationale, as far as the delimitation of the country is concerned, for some shifting or reshuffling of constituencies to make things more proportionate, but some of the ideas that have been mooted now are bizarre beyond belief, and it may take someone of the likes of former President Sam Nujoma, to come out in support of Oshana Governor Clemens Kashuupulwa’s opposition to the plan, to ensure it never sees the light of day!
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