Hope whispers

We are a nation existing in trying times. There is no doubt that most Namibians, rich, poor, black and white are feeling the pinch of a broken economy, although some are feeling it more than others. No matter what anyone tells us, we know the painful truth. Public servants all over Namibia are waiting for overtime payments, schools and other government offices are facing water and electricity cuts, parastatals are struggling to pay for services rendered, moratoriums have been placed on new employments in many industries and the construction industry is on its knees. We may not know this place, but we certainly created it. We created it with greed, exploitation of the poor, inaction towards inequality, nepotism and the refusal to correct the wrongs of the past. It was not created last year, during the last administration or by a few, many, too many had a hand in it. We were a post-apartheid society living through a honeymoon stage and not putting in the work to ensure long-term stability. So what now? Where to from here? They say there’s a beauty in being down and out and having nothing more to lose. That is where we are as a nation. We can and should do better. We can and should ensure better tender and procurement procedures that will lead to the creation of sustainable businesses that employ and empower our people on a long-term basis. We know now that greed and nepotism serves no one in the long run, we need to empower institutions that hold power to account, to ensure that no one gets to believe that they are above the law. It is when people believe that the long arm of the law won’t reach them, when they ultimately do wrong by the people. Importantly, we need to take stock about where we have been as a nation, what we have seen and felt in order to do better. Ensuring accountability in a nation where so many have gotten away with so much already won’t be easy. But hope whispers, let’s do better.