Political Perspective

ONE would have thought that the whole concept of ‘jobs for comrades’ had already been so totally discredited that it cannot be resuscitated, but there are some who are still hammering away at this agenda.

Since the foremost proponent of the concept, Paulus Kapia, now discredited former Swapo Youth League Secretary General, disappeared from public view, it seems others are intent on filling the vacuum he’s left. ONE such person is Petrus Ilonga, Swapo MP, who this week in Parliament again justified Ministers and MPs serving on boards, adding that politicians should run the affairs of Government through administration.Not only is he attempting to justify empowerment for the already empowered, but he is contributing to the problem rather than trying to solve it.Politicians, especially those who have no specific area of expertise, are precisely one of the reasons we have the problems we do.They’re making political decisions in areas that actually need business solutions.Air Namibia is a classic example.Management of most Ministries is dismal.This was borne out in the many separate reports by the Auditor General, and the Ministers aren’t helping much.Even permanent secretaries, who were formerly political appointees, should not be given such posts unless they have strong accounting backgrounds.Jobs for pals are another reason we’re faced with a spate of corruption cases and mismanagement, primarily of State resources.I am certain a former head of the Social Security Commission (SSC), for example, Dessa Onesmus, who messed up badly, did not have the right (or any, for that matter) qualifications for the post.Yet she was ’empowered’ simply she was a comrade, and to what end? Certainly not to the benefit of this country and its people, as things turned out.A question which Ilonga neither posed nor answered, is whether Ministers, MPs and top Government officials serving on boards should in fact be paid for doing so.I gather that most of them are, and yet if it’s part of their jobs, and they’re probably meeting in working hours, this should not be the case.I also beg to differ with the argument he forwarded in justification, when he said that politicians had ‘broad views’ and were therefore competent, in his eyes, to serve in any capacity.’Broad views’ is far from being expertise, and the latter is something we sorely need in specialised areas.So instead of arguing for politicians, we should really be arguing against their presence on such boards, especially parastatals.Let them stick to what they know best – career politics.(And even this is debatable at times!) On the other hand, we should leave politics out of that which is not political, because this too is a recipe for disaster.Despite the ducking and diving on the controversial issue of former NamPower incumbent CEO Leake Hangala’s demise, politics clearly played a part in the whole process, and (certain members of) Cabinet picked up on this, which was why they could not reach agreement on the recommendation for a successor when the shortlist of candidates was initially placed before them.And notably because Hangala’s name was last on the list! Swapo members may well have proved their commitment during the liberation struggle – some did, others didn’t – but that still doesn’t entitle them to jobs they’re not qualified to hold.Surely we must accept that it would be nothing short of a recipe for disaster to think otherwise? There is some merit in the argument that it is the CEO and staff who need the expertise, and that board members need not necessarily have the same skills.But it would certainly help when it comes to making educated decisions about the matters they’re tasked with.We just need to take a mature step forward in this regard.Sixteen years after Independence and we’re still talking about people’s contribution to the struggle.A majority of these people have already reached retirement age in any case, so we need to let go of the past and quit trying to accommodate people who have only their struggle credentials in favour those who have acquired the necessarily skills since our freedom was won.ONE such person is Petrus Ilonga, Swapo MP, who this week in Parliament again justified Ministers and MPs serving on boards, adding that politicians should run the affairs of Government through administration.Not only is he attempting to justify empowerment for the already empowered, but he is contributing to the problem rather than trying to solve it.Politicians, especially those who have no specific area of expertise, are precisely one of the reasons we have the problems we do.They’re making political decisions in areas that actually need business solutions.Air Namibia is a classic example.Management of most Ministries is dismal.This was borne out in the many separate reports by the Auditor General, and the Ministers aren’t helping much.Even permanent secretaries, who were formerly political appointees, should not be given such posts unless they have strong accounting backgrounds.Jobs for pals are another reason we’re faced with a spate of corruption cases and mismanagement, primarily of State resources.I am certain a former head of the Social Security Commission (SSC), for example, Dessa Onesmus, who messed up badly, did not have the right (or any, for that matter) qualifications for the post.Yet she was ’empowered’ simply she was a comrade, and to what end? Certainly not to the benefit of this country and its people, as things turned out.A question which Ilonga neither posed nor answered, is whether Ministers, MPs and top Government officials serving on boards should in fact be paid for doing so.I gather that most of them are, and yet if it’s part of their jobs, and they’re probably meeting in working hours, this should not be the case.I also beg to differ with the argument he forwarded in justification, when he said that politicians had ‘broad views’ and were therefore competent, in his eyes, to serve in any capacity.’Broad views’ is far from being expertise, and the latter is something we sorely need in specialised areas.So instead of arguing for politicians, we should really be arguing against their presence on such boards, especially parastatals.Let them stick to what they know best – career politics.(And even this is debatable at times!) On the other hand, we should leave politics out of that which is not political, because this too is a recipe for disaster.Despite the ducking and diving on the controversial issue of former NamPower incumbent CEO Leake Hangala’s demise, politics clearly played a part in the whole process, and (certain members of) Cabinet picked up on this, which was why they could not reach agreement on the recommendation for a successor when the shortlist of candidates was initially placed before them.And notably because Hangala’s name was last on the list! Swapo members may well have proved their commitment during the liberation struggle – some did, others didn’t – but that still doesn’t entitle them to jobs they’re not qualified to hold.Surely we must accept that it would be nothing short of a recipe for disaster to think otherwise? There is some merit in the argument that it is the CEO and staff who need the expertise, and that board members need not necessarily have the same skills.But it would certainly help when it comes to making educated decisions about the matters they’re tasked with.We just need to take a mature step forward in this regard.Sixteen years after Independence and we’re still talking about people’s contribution to the struggle.A majority of these people have already reached retirement age in any case, so we need to let go of the past and quit trying to accommodate people who have only their struggle credentials in favour those who have acquired the necessarily skills since our freedom was won.