The Nama Traditional Leaders Association (NTLA) has cautioned that Namibia’s push for development risks repeating historical patterns of exclusion if affected communities remain sidelined from ownership and decision-making.
Reflecting on the government’s genocide remembrance programme held at Lüderitz on Wednesday under the theme ‘Genocide to Renaissance’, NTLA secretary general Lazarus Kairabeb on Thursday said the slogan raises critical questions about whether Namibia is genuinely transforming its economy or simply modernising inherited systems of inequality.
The association said concerns raised by traditional leaders and indigenous communities are often dismissed as “misinformation” instead of being acknowledged as legitimate structural and historical grievances.
The NTLA argued that a true renaissance should go beyond symbolic remembrance and economic expansion to include restorative justice, equitable ownership, cultural protection and meaningful participation in national wealth creation.
“Conflict in Namibia remains structural rather than accidental. It is rooted in colonial land dispossession, labour exploitation and externally controlled accumulation that continue to shape modern development models,” he said.
Kairabeb also criticised corporate social responsibility programmes, saying donations, scholarships and temporary projects are often used as substitutes for meaningful redistribution while communities remain excluded from revenue streams and governance structures.
Kairabeb said the NTLA has played a key role in bringing issues such as indigenous rights, benefit-sharing, historical land dispossession and economic justice into mainstream national debate.
The association called on citizens, academics, and activists from the Hardap and ||Kharas regions to continue engaging critically with Namibia’s development trajectory and ensure local communities become active participants in shaping the country’s future.
