How Not To Repeat History
WE all had hopes that a post-independent Namibia would bring about change.
We were discriminated against, divided and ruled before
Independence.
This led to inequality and injustice.
People lost their dignity, lost hope and had nothing to look
forward to.
Imagine a family living in a one-bedroom house.
Husbands and wives with no privacy, sleeping together with their
children in one room.
There were no real opportunities for you or your children even
if they were gifted - they ended up on the street.
Then Independence came and things looked much brighter.
Discriminatory laws were supposed to be abolished and never
again would anybody be discriminated against or any group be
promoted at the expense of others.
There would be opportunities for all whether you are black or
yellow.
I would be able to become self-employed and achieve whatever I
wanted to.
In other words, I would realise my full potential.
That is what I assumed and my eyes were glowing with
excitement.
There would be endless opportunities, good schools, good
universities and afterwards the sky would be the limit.
In the pre-independence era, people died on the way to hospital
because we did not have one in our village.
And I would always remind myself to wait because all this would
change after Independence.
We will develop our village into a modern town with big modern
stadiums where even international games could be hosted - lawns and
trees all over the place.
After I put my cross in the right place, I thought it would
bring abundance and I smiled and thought ... 'Ooh, this is
it!'.
The start of a real bright future.
No discrimination against or promotion of any group at the
expense of others.
Soon afterwards, I went to another African country that got its
independence years ago.
I was shocked and I wanted to return immediately because I could
not believe it.
I thought to myself; is this what independence means - poverty
everywhere, people staring at you with no hope, no future - even
after years of study.
I came back home and I was not satisfied.
I wanted something that would help bring about change in this
country and on the African continent as whole.
We need to look at our systems and we need to upgrade them.
Especially the most important sectors such as education, health
and even our army.
The army should not be there to harass innocent people.
It should bring people together.
We should not do things that will scare away people that want to
invest, create jobs and help develop this country.
African politics make people run away to greener pastures,
people that can make an impact on this continent.
Politics or economics - they are the same thing.
You do either or both because you want a better standard of
living.
But Africans do it the other way around.
We create bloodshed with our policies and the results are
refugees and poverty all over the place.
The will be no development at all as long as the leaders in
charge can enrich themselves and their friends.
Does this mean that if I am Nama, then my whole company is
Nama.
Was it Independence and real freedom that we were hoping for, or
was it Mickey Mouse freedom? This should never be allowed again and
no group should be promoted at the expense of others.
It is destroying lives.
Instead of developing local people and investing in their
future, we import people from outside with the excuse that we do
not have the right people.
Meanwhile gifted people are dying because they do not get the
right opportunities.
Millions are lost through corruption at organisations like the
Roads Authority, Social Security etc. - the list is endless.
Companies that were created without proper controls in
place.
These millions could have been invested in our people's
future.
The millions invested in the DRC could have been used to solve
the land issue or to buy property and to empower the people.
As soon as people realise this and stand up for their rights,
they are accused of being disrespectful to their leaders.
We do not want people to talk about the truth and to expose the
truth.
If leaders talk about history the whole day the people tend to
look for the leaders or party who can bring about change.
Not the kind of destructive change you get in Africa where they
keep on repeating history and there are no smart people who can
bring in investors or create opportunities.
History is good for those who argue about this and that, but
Africa needs life.
We campaign against the media and the opposition because they
report the truth.
Do you think people are blind and they cannot see what is going
on? We think they are our enemies but they are really helping us
not to deviate from our aims.
They actually keep us on track.
They are our watchdogs and are very healthy for our country.
You do not have to worry about them as long as you are doing the
right thing.
So let us start doing things differently and bring about change
in this country and a change on this continent as a whole.
- W. Bezuidenhout - Windhoek
This led to inequality and injustice. People lost their dignity,
lost hope and had nothing to look forward to. Imagine a family
living in a one-bedroom house. Husbands and wives with no privacy,
sleeping together with their children in one room. There were no
real opportunities for you or your children even if they were
gifted - they ended up on the street. Then Independence came and
things looked much brighter. Discriminatory laws were supposed to
be abolished and never again would anybody be discriminated against
or any group be promoted at the expense of others. There would be
opportunities for all whether you are black or yellow. I would be
able to become self-employed and achieve whatever I wanted to. In
other words, I would realise my full potential. That is what I
assumed and my eyes were glowing with excitement. There would be
endless opportunities, good schools, good universities and
afterwards the sky would be the limit. In the pre-independence era,
people died on the way to hospital because we did not have one in
our village. And I would always remind myself to wait because all
this would change after Independence. We will develop our village
into a modern town with big modern stadiums where even
international games could be hosted - lawns and trees all over the
place. After I put my cross in the right place, I thought it would
bring abundance and I smiled and thought ... 'Ooh, this is it!'.
The start of a real bright future. No discrimination against or
promotion of any group at the expense of others. Soon afterwards, I
went to another African country that got its independence years
ago. I was shocked and I wanted to return immediately because I
could not believe it. I thought to myself; is this what
independence means - poverty everywhere, people staring at you with
no hope, no future - even after years of study. I came back home
and I was not satisfied. I wanted something that would help bring
about change in this country and on the African continent as whole.
We need to look at our systems and we need to upgrade them.
Especially the most important sectors such as education, health and
even our army. The army should not be there to harass innocent
people. It should bring people together. We should not do things
that will scare away people that want to invest, create jobs and
help develop this country. African politics make people run away to
greener pastures, people that can make an impact on this continent.
Politics or economics - they are the same thing. You do either or
both because you want a better standard of living. But Africans do
it the other way around. We create bloodshed with our policies and
the results are refugees and poverty all over the place. The will
be no development at all as long as the leaders in charge can
enrich themselves and their friends. Does this mean that if I am
Nama, then my whole company is Nama. Was it Independence and real
freedom that we were hoping for, or was it Mickey Mouse freedom?
This should never be allowed again and no group should be promoted
at the expense of others. It is destroying lives. Instead of
developing local people and investing in their future, we import
people from outside with the excuse that we do not have the right
people. Meanwhile gifted people are dying because they do not get
the right opportunities. Millions are lost through corruption at
organisations like the Roads Authority, Social Security etc. - the
list is endless. Companies that were created without proper
controls in place. These millions could have been invested in our
people's future. The millions invested in the DRC could have been
used to solve the land issue or to buy property and to empower the
people. As soon as people realise this and stand up for their
rights, they are accused of being disrespectful to their leaders.
We do not want people to talk about the truth and to expose the
truth. If leaders talk about history the whole day the people tend
to look for the leaders or party who can bring about change. Not
the kind of destructive change you get in Africa where they keep on
repeating history and there are no smart people who can bring in
investors or create opportunities. History is good for those who
argue about this and that, but Africa needs life. We campaign
against the media and the opposition because they report the truth.
Do you think people are blind and they cannot see what is going on?
We think they are our enemies but they are really helping us not to
deviate from our aims. They actually keep us on track. They are our
watchdogs and are very healthy for our country. You do not have to
worry about them as long as you are doing the right thing. So let
us start doing things differently and bring about change in this
country and a change on this continent as a whole.- W. Bezuidenhout
- Windhoek