Time For Constructive Criticism

PRIOR to putting across my viewpoint, I would like to clarify a few points with reference to a letter titled ‘Shebeens Benefit Only A Few’ in your newspaper dated June 10, 2005.

Firstly, the author’s remarks on Israel and the Jewish settlers in Palestine are tantamount to slander and is totally uncalled for. It reflects an appalling lack of information and the exposure of the author, to an overdose of some Arabic television network because there has been no attempt to discern the fact from fiction.It, however, proves the pertinent fact that, if you have the financial power, you can transmogrify a nation of persecuted people into villains and a bunch of terrorists into heroes.It’s high time people started calling a spade a spade.At this rate it is not going to be long before people like Osama and Saddam start applying for some sort of sainthood.Men who bomb cities, kill innocent men and women and children, cannot be called heroes, whereas men who bravely defend their countries and their people from persecution at the hands of these terrorists cannot be framed as villains either.Nobody can deny the fact that The Namibian is one of the fundamental pillars of the Namibian democracy.The effect of anything published in this newspaper has far-reaching repercussions on the attitudes and opinions of all concerned.One cannot deny the fact that, in a democracy, everybody has the right to put across his point of view.However, nobody has the right to unjustly slander others or hurt the sentiments of other people, in the name of democracy.I therefore request the editorial staff of The Namibian to stop publishing such ludicrous letters which are founded more on fiction rather than on fact.Secondly, the author’s comments on shebeens is common knowledge.For the past few months everybody has been saying the same thing.So why keep repeating the same thing over and over again? It’s high time our criticism got a bit constructive.The common statement is “let’s close down these shebeens”.Next, one can only conjecture that people will start calling for closing down all the breweries in Namibia, so what if that renders hundreds of people jobless.For the record, I do concur with the popular belief that shebeens are not good for the overall social health of the country.However, instead of blindly closing them down, let’s try and have a broader perspective of the overall picture.The very fact that shebeens are mushrooming all over the place is indicative that people in fact have money, albeit relatively less than others.Ostensibly, such entrepreneurs who manage to cough up the money for shebeens, do so because they don’t have any suitable investment alternatives.A detailed study of the situation might help explain why potential entrepreneurs prefer to invest in shebeens rather than other economically productive ventures.Perhaps they lack the knowledge or the requisite experience or even the basic self-confidence for starting some venture which may be beneficial not only to the entrepreneur but to the nation as a whole.Closing down such shebeens will not guarantee the channelling of such investment towards productive areas of the economy.What is required is a guiding force to channel such investments towards overall economic growth and prosperity.Rather than blindly talking about closing down shebeens and spreading misery all around, let’s try and be a bit practical.We know that these potential entrepreneurs have capital but don’t know how to use if effectively.It is high time the Government worked out an appropriate strategy to divert such investment from unproductive ventures like shebeens to more productive areas.Let’s not panic and implement ad hoc measures, prejudicial not only to such entrepreneurs but to the economy as a whole.However, I am digressing from the main point that I am trying to put across in this letter, which is the attitude of most Namibians when it comes to criticism.We just like to lie back and pass critical remarks about all and sundry without any suggestions for possible constructive alternatives.Take for example the current hullabaloo against corruption.It’s really impressive.Corruption is something that has to be weeded out of our system.However, it is highly debatable whether corruption can actually be defeated through these fancy speeches.I mean, corruption at the higher levels may be a result of pure greed but at the lower levels it’s more of an economic problem wherein an individual has to resort to corruption to make ends meet.Punishing such individuals will not solve the problem.In the long run they’ll develop a better system to defeat laws against corruption, thus ensuring that corruption itself would never be defeated.You can prosecute a few people but as long as there is poverty, corruption will continue to exist.Please try and understand the basic fact that we are dealing with human beings and not with machines.Machines work under certain limited parameters.Any contravention of such parameter can be rectified immediately.However, as far as human beings are concerned there are no pre-defined parameters.Yes, there are socially acceptable parameters but these are highly flexible.If memory serves me right, just a few months ago before the elections, a potential presidential hopeful was cowed down by a series of undemocratic manoeuvres by the upper echelons of the ruling party.Members who supported this were awarded plum positions in the new cabinet as a reward for unashamedly trampling over what was a farcical effort at democracy.These are the very people who have now become the champions in the fight against corruption.These are the same hypocritical voices that urge people on a daily basis to renounce corruption and strive for the beneficial development of the country.Forget the past and let us talk about current affairs.There has been a large hike in defence expenditure.Modern history states that as far as defence deals are concerned without any exception, regarding any country, the average kickbacks range to ten to thirty-five per cent on such deals.I sincerely hope that Namibia will be an exception, after all miracles are nothing new to human history.However, I am once again digressing.I would like to use this opportunity to try and emphasise one basic point to my fellow Namibians.Please try and open your eyes to practical reality.Stop living in a dream world, filled with fanciful speeches and promises.They don’t solve anything.Yes, they make you feel nice and secure but at the end of the day you are worse off than before and you have nobody to blame but yourselves.Closing you eyes will not stop the sun from rising.Every true Namibian would like to see his country rich and prosperous.However, for this you need a positive attitude.Just sitting back and criticising existing systems does not help.What we have to look for is not just productive alternatives but productive alternatives with a human touch.We have to realise that we are all human beings and as such we have different perspectives and follow different rules.It is high time we started looking at the current situation from a human perspective, rather than following pre-determined ways towards life, based on western or foreign philosophies.We are Namibians so let’s deal with our problems in a truly Namibian manner, which will be an example for the rest of the world.Anonymous OndangwaIt reflects an appalling lack of information and the exposure of the author, to an overdose of some Arabic television network because there has been no attempt to discern the fact from fiction.It, however, proves the pertinent fact that, if you have the financial power, you can transmogrify a nation of persecuted people into villains and a bunch of terrorists into heroes.It’s high time people started calling a spade a spade.At this rate it is not going to be long before people like Osama and Saddam start applying for some sort of sainthood.Men who bomb cities, kill innocent men and women and children, cannot be called heroes, whereas men who bravely defend their countries and their people from persecution at the hands of these terrorists cannot be framed as villains either.Nobody can deny the fact that The Namibian is one of the fundamental pillars of the Namibian democracy.The effect of anything published in this newspaper has far-reaching repercussions on the attitudes and opinions of all concerned.One cannot deny the fact that, in a democracy, everybody has the right to put across his point of view.However, nobody has the right to unjustly slander others or hurt the sentiments of other people, in the name of democracy.I therefore request the editorial staff of The Namibian to stop publishing such ludicrous letters which are founded more on fiction rather than on fact.Secondly, the author’s comments on shebeens is common knowledge.For the past few months everybody has been saying the same thing.So why keep repeating the same thing over and over again? It’s high time our criticism got a bit constructive.The common statement is “let’s close down these shebeens”.Next, one can only conjecture that people will start calling for closing down all the breweries in Namibia, so what if that renders hundreds of people jobless.For the record, I do concur with the popular belief that shebeens are not good for the overall social health of the country.However, instead of blindly closing them down, let’s try and have a broader perspective of the overall picture.The very fact that shebeens are mushrooming all over the place is indicative that people in fact have money, albeit relatively less than others.Ostensibly, such entrepreneurs who manage to cough up the money for shebeens, do so because they don’t have any suitable investment alternatives.A detailed study of the situation might help explain why potential entrepreneurs prefer to invest in shebeens rather than other economically productive ventures.Perhaps they lack the knowledge or the requisite experience or even the basic self-confidence for starting some venture which may be beneficial not only to the entrepreneur but to the nation as a whole.Closing down such shebeens will not guarantee the channelling of such investment towards productive areas of the economy.What is required is a guiding force to channel such investments towards overall economic growth and prosperity.Rather than blindly talking about closing down shebeens and spreading misery all around, let’s try and be a bit practical.We know that these potential entrepreneurs have capital but don’t know how to use if effectively.It is high time the Government worked out an appropriate strategy to divert such investment from unproductive ventures like shebeens to more productive areas.Let’s not panic and implement ad hoc measures, prejudicial not only to such entrepreneurs but to the economy as a whole.However, I am digressing from the main point that I am trying to put across in this letter, which is the attitude of most Namibians when it comes to criticism.We just like to lie back and pass critical remarks about all and sundry without any suggestions for possible constructive alternatives.Take for example the current hullabaloo against corruption.It’s really impressive.Corruption is something that has to be weeded out of our system.However, it is highly debatable whether corruption can actually be defeated through these fancy speeches.I mean, corruption at the higher levels may be a result of pure greed but at the lower levels it’s more of an economic problem wherein an individual has to resort to corruption to make ends meet.Punishing such individuals will not solve the problem.In the long run they’ll develop a better system to defeat laws against corruption, thus ensuring that corruption itself would never be defeated.You can prosecute a few people but as long as there is poverty, corruption will continue to exist.Please try and understand the basic fact that we are dealing with human beings and not with machines.Machines work under certain limited parameters.Any contravention of such parameter can be rectified immediately.However, as far as human beings are concerned there are no pre-defined parameters.Yes, there are socially acceptable parameters but these are highly flexible.If memory serves me right, just a few months ago before the elections, a potential presidential hopeful was cowed down by a series of undemocratic manoeuvres by the upper echelons of the ruling party.Members who supported this were awarded plum positions in the new cabinet as a reward for unashamedly trampling over what was a farcical effort at democracy.These are the very people who have now become the champions in the fight against corruption.These are the same hypocritical voices that urge people on a daily basis to renounce corruption and strive for the beneficial development of the country.Forget the past and let us talk about current affairs.There has been a large hike in defence expenditure.Modern history states that as far as defence deals are concerned without any exception, regarding any country, the average kickbacks range to ten to thirty-five per cent on such deals.I sincerely hope that Namibia will be an exception, after all miracles are nothing new to human history.However, I am once again digressing.I would like to use this opportunity to try and emphasise one basic point to my fellow Namibians.Please try and open your eyes to practical reality.Stop living in a dream world, filled with fanciful speeches and promises.They don’t solve anything.Yes, they make you feel nice and secure but at the end of the day you are worse off than before and you have nobody to blame but yourselves.Closing you eyes will not stop the sun from rising.Every true Namibian would like to see his country rich and prosperous.However, for this you need a positive attitude.Just sitting back and criticising existing systems does not help.What we have to look for is not just productive alternatives but productive alternatives with a human touch.We have to realise that we are all human beings and as such we have different perspectives and follow different rules.It is high time we started looking at the current situation from a human perspective, rather than following pre-determined ways towards life, based on western or foreign philosophies.We are Namibians so let’s deal with our problems in a truly Namibian manner, which will be an example for the rest of the world.Anonymous Ondangwa