Getting Our Just Desserts

DID we not get what we deserve? Did we not vote Swapo into power again? Did we choose not to go and vote, because we have the attitude that Swapo will win again anyway? Do we want to keep on complaining for the next five years?

I asked the above questions, because every day when I open The Namibian, I see people complaining in the SMS column. Basically we keep on complaining about the same things over and over again. Before the elections of last year we complained about the lack of education, the lack of work, the lack to progress, the lack of development, and the lack of decent health care, but they buy double cab bakkies for the Traditional Leaders forN$ 18 million. We keep on complaining about corruption, and leaders who do not care for the poor, but every election we keep on voting them into power.Then after elections you read the SMS’s again in The Namibian. The Leaders justify vehicles of N$30 million for themselves. This is, after you read an e-mail from a teacher describing how poor the children in the schools are. No textbooks. No food. No money for school fees. No schools, dirty hospitals and clinics. No vision. Electricity increases of 35%. Unemployment of 50% (and counting). Study grants for the children of the leaders. Shebeens that do not adhere to the law. Kids drinking in the shebeens during the week and weekends. Kids failing grade 10 and 12. Teenage pregnancy. Corruption. The more we think it is different the more it stays the same.If we do not demand transparency from our leaders and we do not ask for performance audits on our leaders, we will have the same problems after each election. They do not see the rot that they are creating. They do not want to know because they cannot blame Apartheid for their mistakes anymore after 20 years of Independence. I presume they do not read the SMS pages of The Namibian, or only when they are praised. If they did, at least there would have been improvements in the country. Some of them do read the SMSes and try to respond to them, just to point out to the person who had complained that he/she did not give enough information or it is basically their own problem. Maybe the government must start using the SMS page to realize where there are problems and start focusing on them. But wait! They know all about these problems and still decide to buy themselves new vehicles. They are like the Financiers of Wall Street who started the World Recession, but still pay themselves nice bonuses.So in this brave new Namibia we teach our children it is ok to be corrupt, to award failure and never take responsibility for your mistakes. We are not making it difficult for ourselves at present, but wait until our children have grown up. Then they will have to re-develop Namibia, because we are leaving them nothing. So be careful with the next elections that we do not vote in the dead wood, but rather young and new bloods who are competent and willing to work. Do not vote for a party just because your father, mother, uncle or any other family member tells you that they will disown you if you do not vote the way they want you to. It is your choice for the future. So think and stop complaining. Theuns DreyerVia e-mail

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