Political Perspective: What A Way To Mark Africa Day!

WHAT is President Hifikepunye Pohamba thinking? Or is he? He has truly committed the folly of the month (possibly of the year) by shutting down the civil service at 13h00 today to “enable them to prepare” for the public holiday and Africa Day rally on Friday! This in the wake of a slew of public holidays in May, which have already crippled the economy of the country and postponed the reopening of Government schools by a week! I am absolutely astounded at this ill-conceived gesture.

I’M not going to blame the Prime Minister who put out the circular to this effect, as it appears to be on the instructions of the President, but as head of the civil service I would have hoped he would have taken a stance to advise the Head of State against such a move. Sent out as a circular to all public servants, Prime Minister Nahas Angula said that in commemoration of Africa Day, and because of the historic events culminating in the celebration of 44 years of establishment of the OAU (now AU), the President would address a public rally on Friday to which he extended a ‘special invitation’ to civil servants to attend.Fine up to there.But then he added: “In order to ensure that public servants attend this event in their thousands, the Public Service institutions will close at 13h00 on Thursday 24th May 2007 to enable public servants to prepare for the rally on 25th May”.The operative word here appears to be ‘prepare’.But what, may I ask, do an estimated 75 000 civil servants need to do for several hours the day prior, to ‘prepare’ for a rally on a day already set aside as a public holiday for this purpose?! Can one presume Government is going to do some kind of roll call at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Katutura, where the President will speak, and which can accommodate an estimated 9 000 people? If this is an attempt to beef up attendance at our various national days, it is both expensive to our State coffers and ludicrous in the extreme at the same time.Africa Day is a historic day for our continent, but then we’ve already declared it a holiday and rallies will be held for those who want to attend.What possible purpose can be served by adding on an extra half-day to ‘prepare’ for it? It’s a never-ending story like the label on a Marmite bottle! Will Government be given an extra half-day next year to prepare for the half-day which will allow all to prepare for Africa Day? Never mind the fact that nurses and our Police force and other essential services won’t benefit from this, and the next time they ask for increases, Government will say ‘there ain’t no money’! Surprise, surprise! Guess why not? How, after all, will they be compensated for the fact that the rest of the civil service have an extra half-day’s paid leave? The Prime Minister made a point of emphasising the words of Kwame Nkrumah, leader of the first African nation to break with colonialism in 1947: “When we talk about Africa for Africans we just proclaim our right to rule ourselves”.Is this how Namibia goes about it? I am sure Nkrumah would turn in his grave if he knew how a country like Namibia declared holidays to prepare for more holidays instead of building a productive African nation which can fend for itself and set an example for the rest of the world.Our President cannot be taken seriously if he ever again mentions the need for a strong work ethic, for he has put paid to this argument in one fell swoop with this step.Instead, the occasion of Africa Day should have been used as an opportunity for Africans themselves, and their leaders in particular, to do reality checks and some deep soul-searching about the state of our continent and what we’ve done with the freedoms so hard won.A place where internecine wars continue to rage; where millions are displaced; where famine and poverty and hardship abound; where dictators continue to be protected by democrats; where all the things the Nkrumahs and other visionaries of this continent have wanted for us continue to be still-elusive dreams.Much of the African predicament is due to bad, corrupt, despotic or just downright stupid leadership, or lack thereof! Instead of forging a combined destiny and better lives for our people, we fritter away the gains and ideals of our revolution, and those of others who fought for the great African dream, by futile gestures such as these.Sent out as a circular to all public servants, Prime Minister Nahas Angula said that in commemoration of Africa Day, and because of the historic events culminating in the celebration of 44 years of establishment of the OAU (now AU), the President would address a public rally on Friday to which he extended a ‘special invitation’ to civil servants to attend.Fine up to there.But then he added: “In order to ensure that public servants attend this event in their thousands, the Public Service institutions will close at 13h00 on Thursday 24th May 2007 to enable public servants to prepare for the rally on 25th May”.The operative word here appears to be ‘prepare’.But what, may I ask, do an estimated 75 000 civil servants need to do for several hours the day prior, to ‘prepare’ for a rally on a day already set aside as a public holiday for this purpose?! Can one presume Government is going to do some kind of roll call at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Katutura, where the President will speak, and which can accommodate an estimated 9 000 people? If this is an attempt to beef up attendance at our various national days, it is both expensive to our State coffers and ludicrous in the extreme at the same time.Africa Day is a historic day for our continent, but then we’ve already declared it a holiday and rallies will be held for those who want to attend.What possible purpose can be served by adding on an extra half-day to ‘prepare’ for it? It’s a never-ending story like the label on a Marmite bottle! Will Government be given an extra half-day next year to prepare for the half-day which will allow all to prepare for Africa Day? Never mind the fact that nurses and our Police force and other essential services won’t benefit from this, and the next time they ask for increases, Government will say ‘there ain’t no money’! Surprise, surprise! Guess why not? How, after all, will they be compensated for the fact that the rest of the civil service have an extra half-day’s paid leave? The Prime Minister made a point of emphasising the words of Kwame Nkrumah, leader of the first African nation to break with colonialism in 1947: “When we talk about Africa for Africans we just proclaim our right to rule ourselves”.Is this how Namibia goes about it? I am sure Nkrumah would turn in his grave if he knew how a country like Namibia declared holidays to prepare for more holidays instead of building a productive African nation which can fend for itself and set an example for the rest of the world. Our President cannot be taken seriously if he ever again mentions the need for a strong work ethic, for he has put paid to this argument in one fell swoop with this step.Instead, the occasion of Africa Day should have been used as an opportunity for Africans themselves, and their leaders in particular, to do reality checks and some deep soul-searching about the state of our continent and what we’ve done with the freedoms so hard won.A place where internecine wars continue to rage; where millions are displaced; where famine and poverty and hardship abound; where dictators continue to be protected by democrats; where all the things the Nkrumahs and other visionaries of this continent have wanted for us continue to be still-elusive dreams.Much of the African predicament is due to bad, corrupt, despotic or just downright stupid leadership, or lack thereof! Instead of forging a combined destiny and better lives for our people, we fritter away the gains and ideals of our revolution, and those of others who fought for the great African dream, by futile gestures such as these.