Our Antiquated Government

I TRIED to look for the email address of a ministry in the 2013 telephone dictionary – I looked in vain. Can it be that our Namibian government is so antiquated that it does not use this most modern and most cost-efficient communication mode?

And than I looked for the email address of Joel Kaapanda’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technology – again in vain. Let me state this frankly, in a more modern and well-run state, this would be a reason to fire such a man. It is obvious that he hasn’t the faintest clue what ICT means.
But all these state ministries know very well that our people won’t react to such shortcomings – the typical Namibian is too inert for any reaction. And we didn’t hear about the opposition crying foul about this – they too would like to have to do nothing with the citizen. A questioning citizen is in the eyes of our political representatives the ‘worst’ thing that could happen to them all. Without an (email) address, they all can hide. In hiding, they do not have to answer questions and hidden away, they do not have to be accountable – and that, it is our impression, suits them all just fine.
The year 2013 is yet to arrive in Namibia. If this letter does not lead to a nationwide outcry, we will have the best evidence for this statement. But whoever worries in Namibia about government’s backwardness, should join us in our demands that we Namibians really would like to leave the stone age behind. The incompetent minister should, immediately and voluntarily, resign. He brought us the information monopoly and it seems, he thinks that this is progress. He never understood the telephone book’s importance and the importance of electronic communication. One wonders, how the different ministries communicate with each other, probably they still use messengers on foot.
Poor Namibia, we pity you!
Alfons Demant
By email

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