Where are the white and brown chiefs?

THE pre-election gift in the form of 48 brand new double-cab bakkies given to traditional chiefs by Government was discriminatory towards other ethnic groups in Namibia, an opposition party says.

‘In principle there is nothing wrong with it,’ the Monitor Action Group (MAG) led by Kosie Pretorius said on Monday.’If one is given certain responsibilities it must also be made possible for one to implement it.’ The problem with the N$15 million gift courtesy of the taxpayer is that ‘it was done in a discriminatory way which is also against the constitution of the Namibian Constitution,’ the party said in a statement.According to Article 102 (5) of the Constitution, ‘there shall be a Council of Traditional Leaders to be established in terms of an Act of Parliament in order to advise the President on the control and utilisation of communal land and on all such other matters as may be referred to it by the President for advice.’ ‘Up till now the Swapo-led Government has not taken any steps to include the Baster, white and brown communities in this Council. That is unconstitutional,’ MAG said. The law that provides for Traditional Authorities was adopted by Parliament in the early 1990s and amended in the year 2000.It stipulates the duties and functions of Traditional Authorities – to uphold, promote, protect and preserve the culture, language, tradition and traditional values of that traditional community.’During the last 20 years Government already spent millions of Namibian dollars to help the black communities in this connection without given a single cent to the Baster, white and brown communities. This notwithstanding continuous requests from these communities. This is an example of one of the worst forms of racial discrimination,’ MAG said.