Namibian And Proud Of It?
By: Henning Melber
TWENTY-three years ago we celebrated Namibian Independence Day. Looking back, I remember how tremendously proud and victorious we felt. Part of the manifold celebrations and the display of our patriotic feelings was a sticker, put on our car bumpers, windows and elsewhere, claiming “Namibian and proud of it”. Over the years, the one on my car faded under the Namibian sun. These days I don’t see those stickers on vehicles any longer.
A week ahead of this year’s Independence Day, the Human Development Report (HDR) for 2013 was launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the title ‘The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World’. According to the report’s analysis, the new competition for Africa’s natural resources provides opportunities.
Namibia is among those countries which has a chance to cash in: being the world’s fourth biggest producer of uranium oxide, having plenty of base and strategic minerals, ores and precious stones, the rising world market prices for most of these primary products have contributed to economic growth since independence. At least the statistics tell us so, much to the frustration of our political leaders. They would prefer the status of a Least Developed Country (LDC), which would qualify the country for preferential loans and other advantages for being at the bottom of the standardised development scale of societies – as if this would be a desirable rank and the image and reputation we deserve.
But according to the figures released by the HDR 2013, Namibia is a so-called higher-middle-income country with roughly US$6 000 annual per capita income. According to individual average income this is position 101 among almost 200 countries listed. In contrast, the Human Development Index (HDI), which is based on indicators including life expectancy, literacy, education, under-five mortality and similar data, ranks Namibia at position 128. The drop of 27 ranks is a sobering reminder that figures tell different stories.
The marked contrast between economic prosperity and the lack of human development becomes even more obvious when looking at the Gini coefficient. This socio-econometric measurement establishes the degree of income discrepancies in the distribution of a country’s wealth generated. According to the UNDP data, Namibia continues to hold the top position in the world. That is a sad achievement. According to these social discrepancies, Namibia is downgraded another 16 ranks from its HDI position. This is the third highest drop in rank in the world with regard to the inequality-adjusted ranking.
Namibia is among the worst performers in terms of comparing the accumulated wealth and its distribution with the living conditions of its people. It remains a rich country with poor people. But do we need these figures or a HDR ranking to be aware of the social realities? The high degree of unemployment is visible every day on our streets. People fight for dumped goods on the garbage heaps. Infanticide (baby dumping), rape of our girls and women (from toddlers to grandmothers), suicides and other forms and acts of horrendous violence and disrespect for life are a daily occurrence – all testifying to a society in despair and anomy.
Our people struggle to make ends meet for bare survival. Human dignity is a remote ideal for many. The fruits of independence were not shared with the toiling masses, while our political leaders bemoan the forces at play to destabilise Namibia. But they are the root cause as long as they are in cahoots with other dominant class interests, both locally and internationally. Despite all populist rhetoric they are the worst enemies of the people.
Looking back, I recall our emotions when we were dancing and toyi-toying in front of the main post office celebrating the official announcement of the election results in November 1989. I still remember the warm feelings and the ululations and tears when the Namibian flag was hoisted at midnight on 21 March 1990 in what is now called the Independence Stadium. We sang about the ‘Land of the Brave’ with trembling voices. We were Namibian and proud of it. We looked forward with optimism and confidence. We wanted a better future for all and to leave behind the misery and humiliation under Apartheid once and for all. Looking back, the fond memories have faded like the bumper stickers. Pride and patriotism have turned into pain.
* Henning Melber is Director emeritus of The Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation in Uppsala/Sweden and an extraordinary professor at both the Department of Political Sciences/University of Pretoria and the Centre for Africa Studies/University of the Free State. He joined Swapo as a son of German immigrants in 1974 and headed The Namibian Economic Policy Unit (NEPRU) between 1992 and 2000.