Economic Charity Begins At Home
HAVING only gained its independence 22 years ago, Namibia is living a successful testimony to others by being a peaceful, politically stable country and adhering to international human rights and rule of law. That is not all; by far the country has a vibrant society with modern facilities and hygienic towns compared to others in the region.
In contrast, some of our neighbours are still finding it difficult to have a working internet (online) banking and good network mobile coverage for most inhabitants if not all. However, people do not feed on politics and human rights as one politician put it some months ago on national television. With dismay, take a look at the following facts for your perusal:
• With a small population of about 2.3 million people, unemployment rate is about 51.2 percent, which is the actual labour force without jobs.
• About 63 percent of Namibians are living under the poverty line of US$1 (about N$8) per day.
• Namibia imports about 80 percent of consumable goods from South Africa. Do you remember how the chain stores e.g. Fruit & Veg, Pick n Pay and Shoprite (which are South African owned) were panicking due to the truck drivers’ strike in that neighbouring country?
If Namibia imports 80 percent of items for local usage then why the capitalists are arrogantly trying to convince the nation that they can literally produce and trade goods in Lubumbashi and Pointe Noire if they cannot even manage to do that here? Did they not hear that charity starts at home? Aspects such as arable land (fertile and good rainfall) and big foreign market (population size) of the Congos will be vehemently applied to convince the intellectuals, but I still refuse to believe and support this idea of Industrial Estates in foreign countries.
In the yesteryears, programmes such as NDP3, TIPEEG and others where launched but brought minimal or tangible impact to the man on the street.
Therefore, until proven otherwise; I remain sceptical about the Industrial Estates in foreign countries and that it is another classic way of abusing tax payer’s monies. Namibia is an arid country, but with careful irrigation methods, soil conservation and fertility practices the country can be a champion in food security.
The country has been independent for the past uninterrupted 22 years now. I suggest the government builds more primary and vocational schools. The state should not say there are no funds available while the nation is watching Air Namiba, NBC, and TransNamib being bailed out regularly.
In essence, leaders fail because they did not prioritise their people’s needs!
Gerhard Sam
By email