When Nobody Cares Anymore

An open letter to the Minister of Works, Transport and Communication ON the topic of the many road accidentsÂ… I have been shocked like everybody in the country regarding the toll the accidents have taken, but I am confused by your helpless (or so it seems) search for the reasons thereof.

It simply shows me, that you and/or your advisors have completely lost contact with the grassroots situation of the Namibian population and the reality of what is really going on the Namibian roads in the country. If you want to know what is going on Namibian roads, take an unmarked civilian car, and drive on a Sunday afternoon at 80 km per hour and drive from Windhoek to Okahandja and back, and see for yourself.We did it last Sunday afternoon at 17h00 in a bus, travelling at 80 km/h, with 24 people on board and made fun of it, counting traffic law transgressions.Guess how many we counted: 55 from Okahandja to Windhoek! None of them causing an accident, but any one of them could have been deadly if anything unexpected had happened.I am not going to explain the transgressions to you, but what I am telling you is: The behaviour of the drivers on the roads show total disrespect for many laws! It is a sad truth that before 1990 Namibia was a very strictly ruled country, and a large part of the population (unfortunately) started to hate any authority and any law.After Independence, the new Government permitted the laws to relax, and for far too long permitted the populace to have the feeling that there were NO LAWS at all.But this is not all: the worst thing happened to the country was the attitude of the new Government regarding the LAW: For a very long time after Independence (and partly this practice is still going on today) virtually every transgressor of rules or regulations or accepted practices was assumed to be ignorant and uninformed of such rules and regulations or practices (although most of them knew quite well that they where transgressing) and was not held accountable for his/her actions.This is and was especially true with respect to the so-called leaders, managers and others who should be examples.To prove my point: Just think of all the Commissions of Enquiry with all the wrongdoings where NOBODY was brought to book.Just think of all the newspaper reports on fraud like at Avid, ODC, SSC and NBC.Just read about the Commission on State finances under Johan de Waal.Even a very high-ranking person in Government, a Permanent Secretary, wipes his backside on the reports, making it very clear what he thinks of THE LAW (or regulation or practice).This fact alone created for 15 years the general feeling: “why bother with the law, nobody cares anyway”.The truth is unluckily, that they are absolutely correct.Have any of these CEOs or Managers ever been held personally responsible? In short: they knew they were transgressing a rule, and they were not brought to book.This created a general attitude of non-acceptance of personal responsibility by a very large part of the population.Now let me translate this into respect for traffic laws: Have you ever seen that a parking slot reserved for disabled is left free for the disabled? Just look down Independence Avenue and note how many “double-barred line” offences you see within a half-hour (In case you do not understand what I mean: Drivers ignoring solid lines (single or double) or making a U-turn across the road).Just stand at a traffic light and watch how many drivers go through after it went red.Just drive behind vehicles at night: How many vehicles do you find that have ALL lights in perfectly working order? Drive behind vehicles and check how many drivers use an indicator.Why does nobody bother? Because most of the population has lost respect for law enforcement, and law enforcers don’t bother as they should because the judicial system doesn’t function properly! What is the point of having good laws that are not enforced? Remember there are no big laws or small laws, and everybody is equal under the law, and ignorance of the law does not prevent prosecution.Rainer Iben Via e-mailIf you want to know what is going on Namibian roads, take an unmarked civilian car, and drive on a Sunday afternoon at 80 km per hour and drive from Windhoek to Okahandja and back, and see for yourself.We did it last Sunday afternoon at 17h00 in a bus, travelling at 80 km/h, with 24 people on board and made fun of it, counting traffic law transgressions.Guess how many we counted: 55 from Okahandja to Windhoek! None of them causing an accident, but any one of them could have been deadly if anything unexpected had happened.I am not going to explain the transgressions to you, but what I am telling you is: The behaviour of the drivers on the roads show total disrespect for many laws! It is a sad truth that before 1990 Namibia was a very strictly ruled country, and a large part of the population (unfortunately) started to hate any authority and any law.After Independence, the new Government permitted the laws to relax, and for far too long permitted the populace to have the feeling that there were NO LAWS at all.But this is not all: the worst thing happened to the country was the attitude of the new Government regarding the LAW: For a very long time after Independence (and partly this practice is still going on today) virtually every transgressor of rules or regulations or accepted practices was assumed to be ignorant and uninformed of such rules and regulations or practices (although most of them knew quite well that they where transgressing) and was not held accountable for his/her actions.This is and was especially true with respect to the so-called leaders, managers and others who should be examples. To prove my point: Just think of all the Commissions of Enquiry with all the wrongdoings where NOBODY was brought to book.Just think of all the newspaper reports on fraud like at Avid, ODC, SSC and NBC.Just read about the Commission on State finances under Johan de Waal.Even a very high-ranking person in Government, a Permanent Secretary, wipes his backside on the reports, making it very clear what he thinks of THE LAW (or regulation or practice).This fact alone created for 15 years the general feeling: “why bother with the law, nobody cares anyway”.The truth is unluckily, that they are absolutely correct.Have any of these CEOs or Managers ever been held personally responsible? In short: they knew they were transgressing a rule, and they were not brought to book.This created a general attitude of non-acceptance of personal responsibility by a very large part of the population.Now let me translate this into respect for traffic laws: Have you ever seen that a parking slot reserved for disabled is left free for the disabled? Just look down Independence Avenue and note how many “double-barred line” offences you see within a half-hour (In case you do not understand what I mean: Drivers ignoring solid lines (single or double) or making a U-turn across the road).Just stand at a traffic light and watch how many drivers go through after it went red.Just drive behind vehicles at night: How many vehicles do you find that have ALL lights in perfectly working order? Drive behind vehicles and check how many drivers use an indicator.Why does nobody bother? Because most of the population has lost respect for law enforcement, and law enforcers don’t bother as they should because the judicial system doesn’t function properly! What is the point of having good laws that are not enforced? Remember there are no big laws or small laws, and everybody is equal under the law, and ignorance of the law does not prevent prosecution.Rainer Iben Via e-mail