A Time Of New Maturity For Namibia?

ON Friday Namibia will mark 18 years of independence. If we make it so, this could be a significant number since it is generally viewed as a time a youth comes of age and can vote for the first time.

Much has been said on this anniversary about where the country is in the nearly two decades since Independence in 1990. Generally speaking there is praise for Namibia’s democracy and stability, but there is also an overwhelming sense that not enough has been done for the people of this country in a socio-economic sense.Perhaps this is precisely where our efforts should be targeted from this point on.We do need to take stock at this time of where we are as a country and as a nation.While there have been achievements, primarily in keeping our democracy and stability on course, these will soon be placed in jeopardy if we continue the way we do with a general state of maladministration of our resources, which Government can no longer deny.What we need, above and beyond anything else, is proper management of our resources, monetary and otherwise, and this has not happened to date.One needs only to take a look at the state of local government in Namibia, and the constant headlines about one or other, or several, municipalities running out of funds.These fell under the mandate of the late Minister of Local Government and Housing, John Pandeni, who, while he is now considered a ‘hero’ for his struggle credentials, never did enough to rein in these local authorities and demand from them good governance and careful expenditure.We can look too at our Ministries of Education and Health, as well as their significant budgetary allotments, and realise that standards are falling rather than the contrary, largely because of lack of proper supervision of resources.The list continues.If we want to put Namibia on the map of successful nations, then a lot more has to be done to improve management and productivity as well.We cannot make it unless this happens.On our 18th anniversary of Independence we would also suggest that we are again sending out the wrong signals by for example, hosting North Korea’s Kim Yong-nam as our ‘guest of honour’.Surely this is not one of the countries of the world we would like to emulate, regardless of how much support this dictatorship gave to Swapo during the liberation struggle.In making this gesture, we are certainly showing our inability to break with the now long-distant past and face a new future where we can take our place among the nations of the world that are committed to democracy and maintenance of human rights.Instead we are identifying ourselves with the forces of backwardness and oppression.While it may be so that the new State House was constructed mainly by builders from North Korea, this does not justify elevating that country to hero status in Namibia.We achieved political independence 18 years ago and since then have been calling for economic emancipation as the priority.And yet we can count few successes in this regard, and this is the real measure of whether Namibia can make it or not.We are politically independent, but not yet mature enough to accept democracy, including the trappings of multi-party democracy, as we vilify opponents of the dominant party in Namibia.We need to take another step to full maturity and accept the multiplicity of viewpoints in Namibia in keeping with our Bill of Rights.And most importantly, we need to begin the process of economic emancipation of our people, and one of the ways in which to do this is to ensure our resources, monetary and otherwise, are scrupulously managed.We need, as many have suggested, to run the country like a business, and if the incumbents are unable to do it, they must ensure they have the expertise available to assist them to this end.An invitation of this nature to North Korea is hardly going to attract the investment community to our country.Indeed, it will be perceived as a sign of backwardness, and surely quite rightly so.There are many countries that helped our liberation struggle more than North Korea, and many of these are respected members of the international community.It would have been better to extend invitations in such direction instead.Hopefully our political leadership will commit to specific goals for the years ahead – achievable short-term benefits for the good of our people which can be measured year by year.Our people too, need to commit to maximum productivity if we want to achieve tangible targets for a better Namibia.Generally speaking there is praise for Namibia’s democracy and stability, but there is also an overwhelming sense that not enough has been done for the people of this country in a socio-economic sense.Perhaps this is precisely where our efforts should be targeted from this point on.We do need to take stock at this time of where we are as a country and as a nation.While there have been achievements, primarily in keeping our democracy and stability on course, these will soon be placed in jeopardy if we continue the way we do with a general state of maladministration of our resources, which Government can no longer deny.What we need, above and beyond anything else, is proper management of our resources, monetary and otherwise, and this has not happened to date.One needs only to take a look at the state of local government in Namibia, and the constant headlines about one or other, or several, municipalities running out of funds.These fell under the mandate of the late Minister of Local Government and Housing, John Pandeni, who, while he is now considered a ‘hero’ for his struggle credentials, never did enough to rein in these local authorities and demand from them good governance and careful expenditure.We can look too at our Ministries of Education and Health, as well as their significant budgetary allotments, and realise that standards are falling rather than the contrary, largely because of lack of proper supervision of resources.The list continues.If we want to put Namibia on the map of successful nations, then a lot more has to be done to improve management and productivity as well.We cannot make it unless this happens.On our 18th anniversary of Independence we would also suggest that we are again sending out the wrong signals by for example, hosting North Korea’s Kim Yong-nam as our ‘guest of honour’.Surely this is not one of the countries of the world we would like to emulate, regardless of how much support this dictatorship gave to Swapo during the liberation struggle.In making this gesture, we are certainly showing our inability to break with the now long-distant past and face a new future where we can take our place among the nations of the world that are committed to democracy and maintenance of human rights.Instead we are identifying ourselves with the forces of backwardness and oppression.While it may be so that the new State House was constructed mainly by builders from North Korea, this does not justify elevating that country to hero status in Namibia.We achieved political independence 18 years ago and since then have been calling for economic emancipation as the priority.And yet we can count few successes in this regard, and this is the real measure of whether Namibia can make it or not.We are politically independent, but not yet mature enough to accept democracy, including the trappings of multi-party democracy, as we vilify opponents of the dominant party in Namibia.We need to take another step to full maturity and accept the multiplicity of viewpoints in Namibia in keeping with our Bill of Rights.And most importantly, we need to begin the process of economic emancipation of our people, and one of the ways in which to do this is to ensure our resources, monetary and otherwise, are scrupulously managed.We need, as many have suggested, to run the country like a business, and if the incumbents are unable to do it, they must ensure they have the expertise available to assist them to this end.An invitation of this nature to North Korea is hardly going to attract the investment community to our country.Indeed, it will be perceived as a sign of backwardness, and surely quite rightly so.There are many countries that helped our liberation struggle more than North Korea, and many of these are respected members of the international community.It would have been better to extend invitations in such direction instead.Hopefully our political leadership will commit to specific goals for the years ahead – achievable short-term benefits for the good of our people which can be measured year by year.Our people too, need to commit to maximum productivity if we want to achieve tangible targets for a better Namibia.