Need For Meritocracy

IN the new globalised world and the much-clichéd global knowledge economy, countries have to constantly evaluate their strategies to position themselves for the growing competition in the global knowledge economy.

Countries that are sluggish in doing this strategy evaluation will fail to reap the benefits brought about by the global knowledge economy. Generally, countries with open democratic systems, where wealth trickles down to the common man, stand a better chance to do well.A critical element in this equation is the number of knowledge workers a country has.As multinationals seek to cut production costs, countries with a large pool of knowledge workers become relocation points for such manufacturing giants.India and China are cases in point in this regard.What is of value in the knowledge economy is the tacit awareness embedded in the workers that gives companies a competitive edge.Where does this leave Namibia? There are a few disjointed efforts to train people in critical areas here and there.My assessment is that though this is laudable, it is far too little.However, the biggest threat to our gains in this area is the new culture that has permeated our society: rewarding loyalty rather than performance.The best brains easily roam the streets of Windhoek for months on end because they know no one in high places.With no silver lining visible on the proverbial dark clouds, they look across the border and end up selling their skills where they are valued Where does this leave us in the context of Vision 2030? Vision 2030 will easily metamorphose into Vision 2060 in such ambience.No, let us build a meritocratic society.Let the government employee who toils until late be rewarded and lauded.Let the lecturer who publishes and works hard be held up as a role model.A well-trained, free-thinking workforce that can work harder and smarter will edge us closer to Vision 2030.But a value system that rewards competence, hard work and honesty will make us leapfrog towards Vision 2030.I am tempted to think of people in our society who give us hope, people who have reached the pinnacle through their own abilities, competence and integrity.I am thinking of the late Lazarus Ipangelwa, Vekuii Rukoro, Johannes !Gawaxab and others.They offer pointed proof that integrity and success are not mutually exclusive and that whatever dichotomy we put between the two is simply flawed.Let’s revisit our value system and start deconstructing what was built hitherto so that Namibia can have hope to assume its place in the global knowledge economy.If we embed meritocracy in our value system, Vision 2030 will be within reach.Vetja Haakuria OkotjizeGenerally, countries with open democratic systems, where wealth trickles down to the common man, stand a better chance to do well.A critical element in this equation is the number of knowledge workers a country has.As multinationals seek to cut production costs, countries with a large pool of knowledge workers become relocation points for such manufacturing giants.India and China are cases in point in this regard.What is of value in the knowledge economy is the tacit awareness embedded in the workers that gives companies a competitive edge.Where does this leave Namibia? There are a few disjointed efforts to train people in critical areas here and there.My assessment is that though this is laudable, it is far too little.However, the biggest threat to our gains in this area is the new culture that has permeated our society: rewarding loyalty rather than performance.The best brains easily roam the streets of Windhoek for months on end because they know no one in high places.With no silver lining visible on the proverbial dark clouds, they look across the border and end up selling their skills where they are valued Where does this leave us in the context of Vision 2030? Vision 2030 will easily metamorphose into Vision 2060 in such ambience.No, let us build a meritocratic society.Let the government employee who toils until late be rewarded and lauded.Let the lecturer who publishes and works hard be held up as a role model.A well-trained, free-thinking workforce that can work harder and smarter will edge us closer to Vision 2030.But a value system that rewards competence, hard work and honesty will make us leapfrog towards Vision 2030.I am tempted to think of people in our society who give us hope, people who have reached the pinnacle through their own abilities, competence and integrity.I am thinking of the late Lazarus Ipangelwa, Vekuii Rukoro, Johannes !Gawaxab and others.They offer pointed proof that integrity and success are not mutually exclusive and that whatever dichotomy we put between the two is simply flawed.Let’s revisit our value system and start deconstructing what was built hitherto so that Namibia can have hope to assume its place in the global knowledge economy.If we embed meritocracy in our value system, Vision 2030 will be within reach.Vetja Haakuria Okotjize