Does African Culture Hinder Economic Emancipation?

It was one of those bright days in Windhoek.

I was walking through Independence Avenue, just running normal city errands from place to place.

I didn’t really have much on my mind, but as a curious human being, something caught my eye – an open market between the FNB Namibia Parkside building and the Hilton Hotel and Casino.

Yes, the traditional market where they sell all the carved wood and African curio items.

Yes, the market that provides you with free parking if you can’t find parking anywhere else.

I started considering the economic value the vendors or business people operating there actually get by selling their wares.

I have seen most of Namibia and at almost every town there is some sort of similar business selling similar products.

This has led me to wonder: Does African culture hinder the continent’s economic emancipation?

Emancipation can be defined as being free from bondage, servitude, slavery, dependence, civil restraint and other hindrances.

Economic emancipation would then be the freeing of our economic lives from bondage or dependency.

The way I see it, we have a market which does not receive enough support from locals.

Is there a way in which we can look at these markets from a growth perspective?

Could we one day say they contribute to Namibia’s gross domestic product?

I have also noticed that the people who are actually running these businesses are native people – mostly the Himba.

Do we see the potential in this sector to the extent where we could be proud of establishing entities capable of creating generational wealth?

In most countries where economies thrive, the people have one similar goal, one vision, one understanding and are working towards that goal.

In Namibia, we have different indigenous groups with little in common and different goals.

Our cultural diversity is holding us back in terms of economic emancipation.

Imagine we make a living by selling our culture.

How are we supposed to be free from the master if we keep creating a special target market for them?

Can we sustain ourselves without their approval?

To achieve economic emancipation, we should do things our way.

Pandeni Tyapa