Being Each Others’ Keepers
I RESPECT Citizen Nahas Angula (‘We are each other’s keepers: Diversity and divergence’, The Namibian, 10 May) since I think that he is sincere about being committed to national unity. It would be wonderful if all our politicians could come out in this way in support of this unity in diversity. So, we concur completely with the spirit of unifying, in a cultural sense, all our people.
Indeed, as pointed out by Citizen Angula, the social tensions in the country are caused by economic hardships and it is all too easy to find scapegoats. Given our history of colonialism and apartheid, it is unfortunate that our people first and foremost think in terms of tribe, ethnic group or foreigners.
However, I would like to take issue, in the spirit of democratic debate, with the socio-economic element of this discussion.
Angula writes that: ‘’We must come together to design an economic development plan based on the ethos of social justice. Such an economic plan should aim at empowering the common man.’’ (sic)
This immediately raises various questions: What did Swapo do for the past two decades? Why only now such a plan? Well, it probably has to do with the rising discontent in the country and the upcoming elections in 2014. Namibia has the extremely dubious honour of being the most unequal society in the world. For me this means Swapo has been a colossal failure.
In the context of the neo-liberal strategy towards education, health, housing, etc., our people are indeed worse off under Swapo they were under the colonial regime. Of course, the purpose of neo-liberalism was to create a new elite that would benefit from the status quo, but this strategy had to squeeze the middle class tremendously to create that elite. This is why our people are worse off under Swapo. So, why did Swapo agree to neo-liberal policies when they negotiated with the SADF generals?
As it is, the elite are doing all the eating, but when will it be time for the working class to eat? A ministry of community development would be another waste of resources if one considers the ineffectiveness of existing ministries. What is called for is a more fundamental transformation. Andre Gorz argues that poverty is mainly caused by the elite preventing the equitable redistribution of resources.
There is more than enough for all of us to live sufficiently comfortable lives. It is hardly a question of being more productive or needing more development. This is simply a smokescreen. The primary issue is redistribution of resources.
Swapo has clearly lost its credibility in the urban areas and that is why it seems to be stoking the fires of tribalism in the rural areas to drum up support for itself. Of course, there is also a strong suspicion that it is in the business of rigging elections. The Namibian people are seriously discussing issues and searching for alternatives.
Swapo’s honeymoon is over and the tired rhetoric about them having allegedly liberated us does not work anymore. If anything, talk in the streets is about how badly this government has treated our teachers, how the hospitals are falling apart and how ridiculous the food and housing prices are. This is the mess that Swapo co-created. They are the co-managers of this dastardly system.
Namibia represents a neo-colonial system in all its viciousness in that it mercilessly exploits the vast majority of the people while a handful lives in opulence. So, sorry, Citizen Angula, you had your chance for two decades, but you have messed it up. It is time for a different political leadership and real transformation of the system. We are clearly not each others’ keepers when it comes to wealth and income in this terribly unequal country.
KS Ashipala
Windhoek