Sankwasa says politicians ‘act like dogs’

Urban and rural development minister James Sankwasa has compared the behaviour of some parliamentarians to that of “dogs”.“Parliament is barbaric, they act barbaric,” Sankwasa said at the International University of Management's (IUM) cocktail gala dinner in Windhoek on Wednesday.He accused politicians of behaving differently inside parliament, only to return to normal behaviour once they exit that political arena.“They act like dogs, and when they leave, they become adults again,” he said.Sankwasa’s blunt remarks formed part of a broader argument about what he sees as a deeper problem with Namibia’s governance system – the concentration of political power in the hands of people he believes are not always adequately equipped to manage the country’s institutions.He argued that Namibia's biggest challenge is not a shortage of educated professionals but the way political power is distributed and exercised.To illustrate his point, Sankwasa proposed a three-tier analogy.“The first-class students go to school and graduate it; the second-class get admitted to study for MBAs and LLBs to manage the first-class students; the third-class students enter the world of politics and manage both the first- and second-class students and make policies, regulations and laws over them,” he said.He argued that people who fall into other spheres sometimes turn to crime and exert influence over politicians and businesses, while people who never attended school can become prophets whose followers interpret their rise as a “breakthrough”.“Where are we going?” he asked.Local vs international talentSankwasa said the current system means Namibia cannot simply transform overnight, arguing that meaningful change requires confronting deeper attitudes and behaviours shaping leadership, governance and economic participation.His remarks come as Namibia positions itself for major investment across sectors including oil and gas, green hydrogen and critical minerals.While criticising the country's political leadership, Sankwasa also questioned Namibia's tendency to attach greater value to foreign expertise and capital than to its own citizens.“Namibians only consider investors when they are from abroad,” he claimed, saying this raises the question of why foreign professionals, advisors and political figures are often perceived as more credible than Namibians occupying similar roles.“We only see investors as investors when they are foreign, we only see politicians, presidents' advisors as advisors when they are foreign. Where are we going wrong?” he said.Sankwasa said this mindset undermines the country's ability to recognise and develop its own talent, while reinforcing a system in which Namibians can be overlooked in favour of outsiders.He nevertheless stressed that the issue was not whether Namibia should attract foreign investment, but whether the country has the ability and capacity to turn that capital into sustainable economic value.“But the question is, what happens after the money arrives?” he asked. “Are we as a nation able to convert this capital and invest the same into sustainable value for our future?”Sankwasa challenged IUM's graduate school of business to develop local and regional case studies and ensure that students tackle actual organisational problems rather than producing academic work that simply ends up on library shelves.He said Namibia would ultimately have to measure whether the investment drive was translating into tangible, long-term development rather than remaining largely on paper.“If the current wave of investments in this country has either added to sustainable development goals or dissipated into a decade of press releases, what will have made a difference?” he asked.-desmarius@nma.com.na

Sankwasa says politicians ‘act like dogs’

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Namibian Sun 2026-09-25

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Sankwasa says politicians ‘act like dogs’

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Namibian Sun 2026-09-25

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