In Defence Of ‘Herero Mall’

ALLOW me space in your esteemed paper to respond to Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari’s ‘Post-Scriptum column of Friday, August 31 2007, as it cannot go unchallenged.

His article entitled ‘Let us Tear Down the Herero Mall’ was not only coarse but was grossly insensitive to those who associate themselves with the so called ‘Herero Mall’, especially those who eke out a living there. May I, however, first and foremost, seize this opportunity to thank Hengari most profoundly for promoting public debate on critical socio-economic and political issues.I actually encourage him to continue with this noble task.With regard to the abovementioned article, I am tempted to say that Hengari has presented a typical parochial tourist view of the People’s or Herero Mall as it is popularly known.The view he presented and the conclusions drawn were selective and obscured in that he ostensibly only focussed on some of the night-time activities of the Mall, ignoring the many socio-cultural and economic activities carried out at the Mall at other times.Some of the inaccurate and erroneous conclusions that Hengari has drawn which underlie his call for the Mall to be torn down are that it is a major social evil epitomising a state of hopelessness among our youth; that it contributes to or promotes social disintegration and thus unethical cosmopolitanism; the Mall is for the youth and Hereros to the exclusion of other social or ethnic groupings; and that the Mall is counter to social order and cultural integrity.Being one of the first people who started to visit the then open space which later became known as ‘Herero Mall’ and a thriving community business hub especially for the young entrepreneurs, I was provoked by the above analysis and conclusions.The open space served and continues to serve as a platform for people from all walks of life.Those who converge at the Mall would among others, discuss matters touching the welfare of the Ovaherero and Ovambanderu people and Namibians in general.Topics such as the genocide of the Ovaherero by the Germans and due claim for reparations, the then DTA-NUDO debacle, Ovaherero and Mbanderu leadership and unity, farming techniques, etc.These topics and many others continue to be discussed at the Mall and not everyone who is at the Mall and partakes in these discussions was or is a youth and drinks alcohol.I for instance do not drink alcohol and strongly believe in moral and cultural values.What was initially a free-for-all open space started to become a commercial hub and mainly through the Otjiherero radio assumed the name ‘Herero Mall’.I am not aware of a meeting where this name was proposed and endorsed, and hence take the liberty to also refer to the Mall as the People’s Mall.The use of the name Herero Mall, rightly or wrongly so, lends itself to the place being misconstrued as an Ovaherero-only place and conveniently being perceived as a source of social disintegration and unethical cosmopolitan as argued by Hengari.The People’s Mall has increasingly been visited by people of other ethnic groups as well as tourists, white tourists for that matter.A considerable number of people who visit the Mall are over the age of 40 and I am not sure whether adults of such age still qualify to be called youth in terms of our national youth policy.To this extent, the People’s (Herero) Mall should not be perceived as opposed to an Owambo or Damara Mall and such insinuations are in themselves more divisive and disintegrating than the intent and purpose of the Mall.The People’s Mall for the benefit of the Namibian public also attracts people from rural areas who serve in our various traditional authorities (both recognised and unrecognised).These leaders, most of whom would not attend the Mall to drink alcohol, would inform us about what is happening in their areas of jurisdiction and we would advise them on how they should deal with some of the challenges they face.In turn, we would also share information on current political developments as well as government programmes and initiatives, which information by virtue of their leadership role is transmitted to the general populace.As is our tradition, these discussions would take place around a fire, of course with a pot of meat.Some of the Omakura (circumcision peer groups) are also known to be using the Mall for their regular cultural meetings.Provoked by Hengari’s ill-informed article about the Mall last Friday, I went there and did some impromptu interviews at various stalls just to gauge the opinion of both operators and clients of the ‘The Herero Mall’.I wish to report that the call for tearing down the Mall was vehemently rejected and Hengari’s assertions and conclusions that the Mall is a social evil were totally rejected.Being a student of Political Science, I am not convinced that the great Pan-Africanist, Kwame Anthony Appiah has promoted ethical cosmopolitanism at the expense of the diversity of the different cultures, traditions, communities and ethnic groupings as purported by Hengari.It is this rainbow blend which underlies and gives the global village its necessary diversity.It is, therefore, a fallacy that one becomes more a citizen of the global village than that they are first and foremost sons and daughters of their families, communities or ethnic groupings and societies.Comparing the People’s Mall to Tokyo’s Roppongi – a cosmopolitan social and entertainment area – is improper and ignores the developmental status and cosmopolitan composition of the population of such a ‘first’ world state.The comparison is also a denigration of the Ovaherero or any other Namibian grouping’s right to exercise and promote its cultural and ethnic association.Besides, the Ovaherero and Ovambanderu people are besieged by inter-ethnic feuds and conflicts and the Mall serves as a relatively neutral place to associate and freely discuss the challenges we collectively face.One would wish to caution that in the haste of becoming citizens of the global village or more Namibian than others, citizens should be wary of discarding their cultures and traditional values and in the process losing their identity and heritage.The emphasis here is to respect and value diversity and see the different ethnic groupings, cultures and communities as building blocks of a cosmopolitan society than a distraction thereof.On the contrary, I would regard this as a more inclusive and sustainable approach to building and promoting Pan-Africanism or say nationalism and reconciliation in Namibia.It is worth admitting however that the Mall, because of its free-for-all atmosphere, has potential for becoming a social evil and a big problem to Katutura residents.Just like any other unregulated liquor outlets, the Mall is admittedly increasingly becoming a source of alcohol abuse, a safety hazard and a source of noise pollution to Katutura residents.The Mall may not be the only such nuisance to residents, if at all it is, and I am not sure how Hengari sees the tearing down of the People’s Mall as a solution to the many social evils of our time.Many of the social challenges we face are not unique to the Mall and they started well before the People’s Mall came into being.Maerua Mall, which instead should be seen to be epitomising the state of our youth is known for abuse of alcohol by pupils, unruly behaviour and violent crimes.Also, the notorious Maperes Bar recorded more murders in weeks than what happened at the Herero Mall in years, thus prompting the authorities to close down that place, albeit unsuccessfully.If Maerua Mall or Maperes Bar are the preferred type of entertainment areas according to Hengari, then I would caution that this is an elitist approach as the beneficiaries of these high society places are not the poor and the unemployed as is the case with the People’s Mall.Besides, why promote a recreational place where the majority of ordinary people cannot afford a meal or a drink, let alone get there.It transpired during the interviews that the respondents were of the opinion that other alternatives to the Mall could be the Paaltjies near Brakwater or Goreangab Dam but unfortunately the cultural integration realised at the Mall would be missing and the commercial benefits derived would also be lost.Soweto Market and the UN Plaza for the same reasons were also not regarded as alternatives.Those in business who regarded themselves as being in the category below SMEs and in need of special protection and care argued that the Mall was a better business incubator centre as it is flexible and inexpensive compared to the formal incubator centre which, despite limited space, is unaffordable to businesses in this category.Hengari, because of his cursory analysis and conclusions of the Mall and what it serves, misses the many positive socio-cultural and economic benefits which have resulted from the Mall.The many respondents to my impromptu survey indicated that the Mall is critical to their livelihoods as it has become an important community business hub.Some of the operators including women at the Mall said that they are realizing enormous profits from operating at the Mall than in their backyards.The respondents, most whom were unemployed or underemployed, claimed to be using the money earned to pay for their rentals, food, school fees, and other necessities.In fact, they said that this is in response to the rampant unemployment and resultant livelihood vulnerability.Robert Chambers, the famous advocate of participatory and inclusive development methodologies, warns against the imposition of our perspective of development at the expense of the people’s preferred development.Instead he proposes that the people’s own views and preferences of development (including town planning) be strongly considered.In this instance, the people have demonstrated what they would prefer and the benefits they would draw from the Mall and the City of Windhoek in its wisdom should consider this issue from a wider horizon.If the People’s Mall is to be closed as proposed by Hengari or its name is to be endorsed or changed or an alternative Mall is to be found, the process should be participatory and inclusive and the conclusions and recommendations to be made should be objective and substantive.In our pursuit of rooting out social challenges, the Mall should not only be singled out as was done by my learned colleague but the consideration should also include all other similar places including unregulated shebeens and the many other street corner operators.Having referred to sociology, I suppose Hengari is well aware that the youth and tomorrow’s society should be dealt with by addressing societal norms and values instead of the manifestations thereof.Government should acknowledge and vigorously continue to address the socio-economic challenges mainly of unemployment and tertiary education which do not accurately respond to the demands of the job market.The Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) should be dissuaded from its current operation of enriching some of the already rich and well-connected at the expense of the youth and the masses.Unless we address some of these challenges our youth would continue to face a bleak future whether there is a Herero Mall or not.You don’t address broader societal problems by simply tearing down the Mall or switching off the big light at the Mall as was done after the unfortunate incident of somebody whose death is linked to the People’s Mall.Societal transformation is rather realised through patient transformative processes instead of drastic, emotional and uncoordinated actions.Regarding the lack of ablution facilities as was rightly bemoaned by Hengari, the people at the Mall also indicated that they are keen to erect ablution facilities and more proper business facilities but the lack of clarity about who owns which part of the Mall and the lack of clarity about the City of Windhoek’s stance on what the open space should be used for are major disincentives to infrastructural investment at the Mall.Finally, to the extent that we accepted without question that the final resting place for our national heroes will be called Heroes Acre and Namibia’s capital city’s name will remain Windhoek instead of any of the indigenous names, a rejection of a place called after any of the indigenous tribes, heroes and heritages is indeed against the true spirit of Pan-Africanism.Let us cling and cherish our cultural identities as we continue to make our voices heard in the consuming global village with its inevitable threat to our cultures, languages and traditional ways of life.* The author is employed as a Regional Integration Officer at the SADC Parliamentary Forum and writes this article in his personal capacity.May I, however, first and foremost, seize this opportunity to thank Hengari most profoundly for promoting public debate on critical socio-economic and political issues.I actually encourage him to continue with this noble task.With regard to the abovementioned article, I am tempted to say that Hengari has presented a typical parochial tourist view of the People’s or Herero Mall as it is popularly known.The view he presented and the conclusions drawn were selective and obscured in that he ostensibly only focussed on some of the night-time activities of the Mall, ignoring the many socio-cultural and economic activities carried out at the Mall at other times.Some of the inaccurate and erroneous conclusions that Hengari has drawn which underlie his call for the Mall to be torn down are that it is a major social evil epitomising a state of hopelessness among our youth; that it contributes to or promotes social disintegration and thus unethical cosmopolitanism; the Mall is for the youth and Hereros to the exclusion of other social or ethnic groupings; and that the Mall is counter to social order and cultural integrity.Being one of the first people who started to visit the then open space which later became known as ‘Herero Mall’ and a thriving community business hub especially for the young entrepreneurs, I was provoked by the above analysis and conclusions.The open space served and continues to serve as a platform for people from all walks of life.Those who converge at the Mall would among others, discuss matters touching the welfare of the Ovaherero and Ovambanderu people and Namibians in general.Topics such as the genocide of the Ovaherero by the Germans and due claim for reparations, the then DTA-NUDO debacle, Ovaherero and Mbanderu leadership and unity, farming techniques, etc.These topics and many others continue to be discussed at the Mall and not everyone who is at the Mall and partakes in these discussions was or is a youth and drinks alcohol.I for instance do not drink alcohol and strongly believe in moral and cultural values.What was initially a free-for-all open space started to become a commercial hub and mainly through the Otjiherero radio assumed the name ‘Herero Mall’.I am not aware of a meeting where this name was proposed and endorsed, and hence take the liberty to also refer to the Mall as the People’s Mall.The use of the name Herero Mall, rightly or wrongly so, lends itself to the place being misconstrued as an Ovaherero-only place and conveniently being perceived as a source of social disintegration and unethical cosmopolitan as argued by Hengari.The People’s Mall has increasingly been visited by people of other ethnic groups as well as tourists, white tourists for that matter.A considerable number of people who visit the Mall are over the age of 40 and I am not sure whether adults of such age still qualify to be called youth in terms of our national youth policy.To this extent, the People’s (Herero) Mall should not be perceived as opposed to an Owambo or Damara Mall and such insinuations are in themselves more divisive and disintegrating than the intent and purpose of the Mall.The People’s Mall for the benefit of the Namibian public also attracts people from rural areas who serve in our various traditional authorities (both recognised and unrecognised).These leaders, most of whom would not attend the Mall to drink alcohol, would inform us about what is happening in their areas of jurisdiction and we would advise them on how they should deal with some of the challenges they face.In turn, we would also share information on current political developments as well as government programmes and initiatives, which information by virtue of their leadership role is transmitted to the general populace.As is our tradition, these discussions would take place around a fire, of course with a pot of meat.Some of the Omakura (circumcision peer groups) are also known to be using the Mall for their regular cultural meetings.Provoked by Hengari’s ill-informed article about the Mall last Friday, I went there and did some impromptu interviews at various stalls just to gauge the opinion of both operators and clients of the ‘The Herero Mall’.I wish to report that the call for tearing down the Mall was vehemently rejected and Hengari’s assertions and conclusions that the Mall is a social evil were totally rejected.Being a student of Political Science, I am not convinced that the great Pan-Africanist, Kwame Anthony Appiah has promoted ethical cosmopolitanism at the expense of the diversity of the different cultures, traditions, communities and ethnic groupings as purported by Hengari.It is this rainbow blend which underlies and gives the global village its necessary diversity.It is, therefore, a fallacy that one becomes more a citizen of the global village than that they are first and foremost sons and daughters of their families, communities or ethnic groupings and societies.Comparing the People’s Mall to Tokyo’s Roppongi – a cosmopolitan social and entertainment area – is improper and ignores the developmental status and cosmopolitan composition of the population of such a ‘first’ world state.The comparison is also a denigration of the Ovaherero or any other Namibian grouping’s right to exercise and promote its cultural and ethnic association.Besides, the Ovaherero and Ovambanderu people are besieged by inter-ethnic feuds and conflicts and the Mall serves as a relatively neutral place to associate and freely discuss the challenges we collectively face.One would wish to caution that in the haste of becoming citizens of the global village or more Namibian than others, citizens should be wary of discarding their cultures and traditional values and in the process losing their identity and heritage.The emphasis here is to respect and value diversity and see the different ethnic groupings, cultures and communities as building blocks of a cosmopolitan society than a distraction thereof.On the contrary, I would regard this as a more inclusive and sustainable approach to building and promoting Pan-Africanism or say nationalism and reconciliation in Namibia.It is worth admitting however that the Mall, because of its free-for-all atmosphere, has potential for becoming a social evil and a big problem to Katutura residents.Just like any other unregulated liquor outlets, the Mall is admittedly increasingly becoming a source of alcohol abuse, a safety hazard and a source of noise pollution to Katutura residents.The Mall may not be the only such nuisance to residents, if at all it is, and I am not sure how Hengari sees the tearing down of the People’s Mall as a solution to the many social evils of our time.Many of the social challenges we face are not unique to the Mall and they started well before the People’s Mall came into being.Maerua Mall, which instead should be seen to be epitomising the state of our youth is known for abuse of alcohol by pupils, unruly behaviour and violent crimes.Also, the notorious Maperes Bar recorded more murders in weeks than what happened at the Herero Mall in years, thus prompting the authorities to close down that place, albeit unsuccessfully.If Maerua Mall or Maperes Bar are the preferred type of entertainment areas according to Hengari, then I would caution that this is an elitist approach as the beneficiaries of these high society places are not the poor and the unemployed as is the case with the People’s Mall.Besides, why promote a recreational place where the majority of ordinary people cannot afford a meal or a drink, let alone get there.It transpired during the interviews that the respondents were of the opinion that other alternatives to the Mall could be the Paaltjies near Brakwater or Goreangab Dam but unfortunately the cultural integration realised at the Mall would be missing and the commercial benefits derived would also be lost.Soweto Market and the UN Plaza for the same reasons were also not regarded as alternatives.Those in business who regarded themselves as being in the category below SMEs and in need of special protection and care argued that the Mall was a better business incubator centre as it is flexible and inexpensive compared to the formal incubator centre which, despite limited space, is unaffordable to businesses in this category.Hengari, because of his cursory analysis and conclusions of the Mall and what it serves, misses the many positive socio-cultural and economic benefits which have resulted from the Mall.The many respondents to my impromptu survey indicated that the Mall is critical to their livelihoods as it has become an important community business hub.Some of the operators including women at the Mall said that they are realizing enormous profits from operating at the Mall than in their backyards.The respondents, most whom were unemployed or underemployed, claimed to be using the money earned to pay for their rentals, food, school fees, and other necessities.In fact, they said that this is in response to the rampant unemployment and resultant livelihood vulnerability.Robert Chambers, the famous advocate of participatory and inclusive development methodologies, warns against the imposition of our perspective of development at the expense of the people’s preferred development.Instead he proposes that the people’s own views and preferences of development (including town planning) be strongly considered.In this instance, the people have demonstrated what they would prefer and the benefits they would draw from the Mall and the City of Windhoek in its wisdom should consider this issue from a wider horizon.If the People’s Mall is to be closed as proposed by Hengari or its name is to be endorsed or changed or an alternative Mall is to be found, the process should be participatory and inclusive and the conclusions and recommendations to be made should be objective and substantive.In our pursuit of rooting out social challenges, the Mall should not only be singled out as was done by my learned colleague but the consideration should also include all other similar places including unregulated shebeens and the many other street corner operators.Having referred to sociology, I suppose Hengari is well aware that the youth and tomorrow’s society should be dealt with by addressing societal norms and values instead of the manifestations thereof.Government should acknowledge and vigorously continue to address the socio-economic challenges mainly of unemployment and tertiary education which do not accurately respond to the demands of the job market.The Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) should be dissuaded from its current operation of enriching some of the already rich and well-connected at the expense of the youth and the masses. Unless we address some of these challenges our youth would continue to face a bleak future whether there is a Herero Mall or not.You don’t address broader societal problems by simply tearing down the Mall or switching off the big light at the Mall as was done after the unfortunate incident of somebody whose death is linked to the People’s Mall.Societal transformation is rather realised through patient transformative processes instead of drastic, emotional and uncoordinated actions.Regarding the lack of ablution facilities as was rightly bemoaned by Hengari, the people at the Mall also indicated that they are keen to erect ablution facilities and more proper business facilities but the lack of clarity about who owns which part of the Mall and the lack of clarity about the City of Windhoek’s stance on what the open space should be used for are major disincentives to infrastructural investment at the Mall.Finally, to the extent that we accepted without question that the final resting place for our national heroes will be called Heroes Acre and Namibia’s capital city’s name will remain Windhoek instead of any of the indigenous names, a rejection of a place called after any of the indigenous tribes, heroes and heritages is indeed against the true spirit of Pan-Africanism.Let us cling and cherish our cultural identities as we continue to make our voices heard in the consuming global village with its inevitable threat to our cultures, languages and traditional ways of life.* The author is employed as a Regional Integration Officer at the SADC Parliamentary Forum and writes this article in his personal capacity.