Namibians should manage their cultural diversity

NAMIBIANS should take advantage of their cultural diversity and manage it to grow a unified and prosperous nation, a Cabinet Minister has urged.

Speaking in Parliament on the decline of respect for elders and morality, Deputy Education Minister Becky Ndjoze-Ojo said on Wednesday that the often-used slogan ‘unity in diversity and diversity in unity’ was a good guideline, but that it required complex management. Namibia was a heterogeneous society and every effort should be made to live up to the expectationsof such a society, she said.”How do we reflect the linguistic and cultural diversity in governance and in the corporate world and … ensure that this population is reflected at all strata of our society,” she asked.Inclusivity should not be replaced with exclusivity and the dynamism of society should not be replaced with dogmatism.The victory of Independence should not turn victors into villains, Ndjoze-Ojo cautioned.”We are villains when every Oshindonga or Otjiherero speaker insists on having an Oshindonga or Otjherero speaker as a secretary, driver or personal assistant,” the Deputy Minister elaborated.Respect should be earned, not demanded.”It cannot be bought and it cannot be deprived from those who have earned it.Namibia as a nation earned international respect as one of the few functioning democracies in Africa and we should and ought to be proud of it, because respectable people of Namibia and beyond acted respectably.Are we still capable of acting respectably and giving respect where it is due?” Ndjoze-Ojo asked.The Deputy Minister was the last contributor in the month-long and lively debate, which was introduced by Swapo backbencher Peya Mushelenga.He asked the House to refer the motion to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resources for further consideration, which was accepted.Namibia was a heterogeneous society and every effort should be made to live up to the expectationsof such a society, she said.”How do we reflect the linguistic and cultural diversity in governance and in the corporate world and … ensure that this population is reflected at all strata of our society,” she asked.Inclusivity should not be replaced with exclusivity and the dynamism of society should not be replaced with dogmatism.The victory of Independence should not turn victors into villains, Ndjoze-Ojo cautioned.”We are villains when every Oshindonga or Otjiherero speaker insists on having an Oshindonga or Otjherero speaker as a secretary, driver or personal assistant,” the Deputy Minister elaborated.Respect should be earned, not demanded.”It cannot be bought and it cannot be deprived from those who have earned it.Namibia as a nation earned international respect as one of the few functioning democracies in Africa and we should and ought to be proud of it, because respectable people of Namibia and beyond acted respectably.Are we still capable of acting respectably and giving respect where it is due?” Ndjoze-Ojo asked.The Deputy Minister was the last contributor in the month-long and lively debate, which was introduced by Swapo backbencher Peya Mushelenga.He asked the House to refer the motion to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resources for further consideration, which was accepted.