Editorial: Real Change Is Vital

IN ORDER for Namibia to be more effective in its campaign to address past equalities and bring about permanent and lasting change in the employment sector, a lot more has to be done than simply to enact tougher laws.

In short, we must make affirmative action work in real terms, and not just in terms of number crunching. No one disputes the need to right the wrongs of the past, but we have to do it in way that has meaning and brings about the change we want to effect.Dissatisfaction at the rate of progress in employment equity was raised in Parliament recently by CoD’s Ben Ulenga, and was addressed by Labour Minister Alfeus !Naruseb, who shared the concerns of the opposition.!Naruseb in turn spoke of implementing ‘stricter regulations’ to make the Affirmative Action Act more effective by lowering the requirement for companies who have to comply with the Employment Equity Commission from 50 to between 25 and 30 employees.According to !Naruseb, many companies were loath to co-operate with the Employment Equity Commission and were making no effort to rectify racially skewed workforces.This is presumably particularly with reference to formerly disadvantaged groups being better represented in management, supervisory and skilled occupational levels.An independent study, he said, had found that generally progress in regard to employment equity in Namibia had been ‘unsatisfactory’.Part of the reason for this lack of progress may well be companies that are simply reluctant to comply, but the issue is far more complex than this and the matter must be probed further.Hopefully the independent study did not simply get bogged down on the issue of non-compliance, but went deeper to look at root causes.A fact that is generally bemoaned across the board in the employment sector, including in Black Empowerment companies in Namibia, is the fact that the country is clearly experiencing a skills shortage, and this is a fact that demands to be addressed before we hope to succeed in achieving our target of equity.To solve it requires much more than an independent inquiry to tell us affirmative action is not working, we need to find out why not.It also requires a dialogue between stakeholders, including Government, private sector, possibly through or with the NCCI, and perhaps most importantly, the tertiary education sector, including the Polytechnic and Unam.Yes, private companies can and must play their part in terms of training their workforce, and skilled workers in particular, in order for employment equity to be mirrored across all sectors, but not all business undertakings are multi-million-dollar enterprises.Some are themselves simply trying to eke out a living, create employment opportunities, and make a profit, especially those with small staff components.Affirmative action simply for the sake of it, or tokenism for that matter, is an expensive procedure; nor is it of any value to the person employed against such a background, or the company.An issue that is easily forgotten is that for affirmative action to have meaning and bring about change, it must mean appointment on competency for a previously disadvantaged person; it needs to mean more than ‘demographic representation’ on paper.Otherwise we end up selling everybody short: the individual, the business and the country.We also end up perpetuating the very situation we are trying to change.The country continues to suffer because in so many, but not all, our parastatals, people without the necessary skills were employed to the detriment not only of the organisation in question, but the country as a whole, for huge financial losses have been incurred.Those who want Namibia to be on a sound economic basis do not want to see this kind of future for our country.We want to develop a strong economy, based on people skills that are tried and tested.We cannot make it otherwise.In order for affirmative action to become a dynamic in driving us forward and a success story in Namibia, we need to get back to the drawing board, and if necessary, draw up lists of the kind of skills and competencies that are currently in short supply, so that our educational institutions can start giving the necessary attention to where the priorities for training are.This is surely the most efficient way to redress our inequalities.No one disputes the need to right the wrongs of the past, but we have to do it in way that has meaning and brings about the change we want to effect.Dissatisfaction at the rate of progress in employment equity was raised in Parliament recently by CoD’s Ben Ulenga, and was addressed by Labour Minister Alfeus !Naruseb, who shared the concerns of the opposition.!Naruseb in turn spoke of implementing ‘stricter regulations’ to make the Affirmative Action Act more effective by lowering the requirement for companies who have to comply with the Employment Equity Commission from 50 to between 25 and 30 employees.According to !Naruseb, many companies were loath to co-operate with the Employment Equity Commission and were making no effort to rectify racially skewed workforces.This is presumably particularly with reference to formerly disadvantaged groups being better represented in management, supervisory and skilled occupational levels.An independent study, he said, had found that generally progress in regard to employment equity in Namibia had been ‘unsatisfactory’.Part of the reason for this lack of progress may well be companies that are simply reluctant to comply, but the issue is far more complex than this and the matter must be probed further.Hopefully the independent study did not simply get bogged down on the issue of non-compliance, but went deeper to look at root causes.A fact that is generally bemoaned across the board in the employment sector, including in Black Empowerment companies in Namibia, is the fact that the country is clearly experiencing a skills shortage, and this is a fact that demands to be addressed before we hope to succeed in achieving our target of equity.To solve it requires much more than an independent inquiry to tell us affirmative action is not working, we need to find out why not.It also requires a dialogue between stakeholders, including Government, private sector, possibly through or with the NCCI, and perhaps most importantly, the tertiary education sector, including the Polytechnic and Unam.Yes, private companies can and must play their part in terms of training their workforce, and skilled workers in particular, in order for employment equity to be mirrored across all sectors, but not all business undertakings are multi-million-dollar enterprises.Some are themselves simply trying to eke out a living, create employment opportunities, and make a profit, especially those with small staff components. Affirmative action simply for the sake of it, or tokenism for that matter, is an expensive procedure; nor is it of any value to the person employed against such a background, or the company.An issue that is easily forgotten is that for affirmative action to have meaning and bring about change, it must mean appointment on competency for a previously disadvantaged person; it needs to mean more than ‘demographic representation’ on paper.Otherwise we end up selling everybody short: the individual, the business and the country.We also end up perpetuating the very situation we are trying to change.The country continues to suffer because in so many, but not all, our parastatals, people without the necessary skills were employed to the detriment not only of the organisation in question, but the country as a whole, for huge financial losses have been incurred.Those who want Namibia to be on a sound economic basis do not want to see this kind of future for our country.We want to develop a strong economy, based on people skills that are tried and tested.We cannot make it otherwise.In order for affirmative action to become a dynamic in driving us forward and a success story in Namibia, we need to get back to the drawing board, and if necessary, draw up lists of the kind of skills and competencies that are currently in short supply, so that our educational institutions can start giving the necessary attention to where the priorities for training are.This is surely the most efficient way to redress our inequalities.