Does independence really have meaning to an average Namibian?
By Sakaria Johannes
Looking back at the life of Namibian youth back than in colonial days and looking at the life of the black youth 26 years later, one can ask, what is the meaning of independence to these brothers and sisters? The majority of the youth are unemployed. There are people who only earn N$500 and those who never had a job in their lives. Some people will die without tasting the fruits of independence while the majority of black Namibians are working for low salaries and no benefits at all.
Our youth are working as security guards, cleaners or Chinese shopkeepers. Many of them are people from poor families. The white youth have been living a good life. When is a white man going to work as a security guard, a taxi driver etc.? When is a white man going to live in a ghetto at Katutura just like the black people who are there? You have to ask yourself these questions before you start to preach peace and stability.
Namibian leaders have their everyday song “youth are the leaders of tomorrow“. When is tomorrow? Some people served in the government for more than 20 years. These people are above 60s. When is the youth going to lead if they do not want to leave? We appreciate what they did and we are ready to continue where they end off. Some people were told in 1990 that they are the leaders of tomorrow… some of them are 50 above.
During the days of migrant labour young black Namibians migrated from rural areas to urban areas. The aim was to find job opportunities and improve their standard of living. In an independent Namibia young people are still migrating from rural areas with the same reason. The majority of them are employed by white people. These white people are the sons and daughters of the same whites who employed the forefathers of these people. Ask yourself, when is a white man going to work for a black man? Another question is when is a child of a black man going to recruit the child of a white man as a farmworker? Because all that we see in Namibia are children of whites inheriting their fathers’ properties.
The majority of the Namibian youth are landless. This is rooted in apartheid.
The school dropouts in the village have no other ways to survive – they have to migrate to cities in order to look for jobs. If that young person does not find a suitable job, than there is no any other option apart from being a thief or a prostitute. The minister of poverty eradication once said, “It is a scandal for Namibia with such a small population to still have people scavenging for food at rubbish dumpsites.” That is a testimony that those people who could not find suitable jobs in urban areas end up surviving like animals .Those who did not leave the villages are still in absolute poverty. Many of them depend on their grandparents’ pension. What do these people benefit from our government? Only peace and stability.
Poverty is particularly concentrated in northern Namibia. If a young person fails Grade 10 or 12, and their parents are unable to pay Namcol or vocational schools, this means that this person is going to look for job in towns and cities. The possibility is high for this person to be employed by a white man’s company. These companies are paying people less but they are making huge profits that they obviously repatriate back to their countries of origin. Namibia does not have its own multinational company. The question is until when will our own Namibian youth be working for Spar, Shoprite, Pep, FNB, Edgars and many more? Until when is Namibia going to depend on South Africa economically?
The Namibian premier league is now history. Football is a source of bread to many young people in the world. This means many Namibian soccer players are in the streets and some are currently employed by foreign companies while their talents are dormant. The country has many companies that are operating in Namibia but they cannot sponsor the league simply because they are here to exploit. Companies like DeBeers were established by imperialist Cecil Rhodes. Namdeb alone made N$11 billion in 2016. This is to testify that companies have money to sponsor the league but they are just not willing to do so.
The caste system that Namibia is constructing will only ruin peace and stability. The poor youth is now tired of empty promises. The testimony is in many of the movements that are formed in the country. The president of Namibia Dr Hage Geingob once warned “Namibia must learn a lesson from Libya”. These movements are proof that it is time for the government to change how it views the youth. They should now understand that the youth is now open-minded and they can see their suffering. The youth have been waiting for their promises to be delivered.
*Sakaria Johannes is a student at the University of Namibia’s Faculty of Humanities doing a Bachelor of Arts (Honours).
Looking back at the life of Namibian youth back than in colonial days and looking at the life of the black youth 26 years later, one can ask, what is the meaning of independence to these brothers and sisters? The majority of the youth are unemployed. There are people who only earn N$500 and those who never had a job in their lives. Some people will die without tasting the fruits of independence while the majority of black Namibians are working for low salaries and no benefits at all.
Our youth are working as security guards, cleaners or Chinese shopkeepers. Many of them are people from poor families. The white youth have been living a good life. When is a white man going to work as a security guard, a taxi driver etc.? When is a white man going to live in a ghetto at Katutura just like the black people who are there? You have to ask yourself these questions before you start to preach peace and stability.
Namibian leaders have their everyday song “youth are the leaders of tomorrow“. When is tomorrow? Some people served in the government for more than 20 years. These people are above 60s. When is the youth going to lead if they do not want to leave? We appreciate what they did and we are ready to continue where they end off. Some people were told in 1990 that they are the leaders of tomorrow… some of them are 50 above.
During the days of migrant labour young black Namibians migrated from rural areas to urban areas. The aim was to find job opportunities and improve their standard of living. In an independent Namibia young people are still migrating from rural areas with the same reason. The majority of them are employed by white people. These white people are the sons and daughters of the same whites who employed the forefathers of these people. Ask yourself, when is a white man going to work for a black man? Another question is when is a child of a black man going to recruit the child of a white man as a farmworker? Because all that we see in Namibia are children of whites inheriting their fathers’ properties.
The majority of the Namibian youth are landless. This is rooted in apartheid.
The school dropouts in the village have no other ways to survive – they have to migrate to cities in order to look for jobs. If that young person does not find a suitable job, than there is no any other option apart from being a thief or a prostitute. The minister of poverty eradication once said, “It is a scandal for Namibia with such a small population to still have people scavenging for food at rubbish dumpsites.” That is a testimony that those people who could not find suitable jobs in urban areas end up surviving like animals .Those who did not leave the villages are still in absolute poverty. Many of them depend on their grandparents’ pension. What do these people benefit from our government? Only peace and stability.
Poverty is particularly concentrated in northern Namibia. If a young person fails Grade 10 or 12, and their parents are unable to pay Namcol or vocational schools, this means that this person is going to look for job in towns and cities. The possibility is high for this person to be employed by a white man’s company. These companies are paying people less but they are making huge profits that they obviously repatriate back to their countries of origin. Namibia does not have its own multinational company. The question is until when will our own Namibian youth be working for Spar, Shoprite, Pep, FNB, Edgars and many more? Until when is Namibia going to depend on South Africa economically?
The Namibian premier league is now history. Football is a source of bread to many young people in the world. This means many Namibian soccer players are in the streets and some are currently employed by foreign companies while their talents are dormant. The country has many companies that are operating in Namibia but they cannot sponsor the league simply because they are here to exploit. Companies like DeBeers were established by imperialist Cecil Rhodes. Namdeb alone made N$11 billion in 2016. This is to testify that companies have money to sponsor the league but they are just not willing to do so.
The caste system that Namibia is constructing will only ruin peace and stability. The poor youth is now tired of empty promises. The testimony is in many of the movements that are formed in the country. The president of Namibia Dr Hage Geingob once warned “Namibia must learn a lesson from Libya”. These movements are proof that it is time for the government to change how it views the youth. They should now understand that the youth is now open-minded and they can see their suffering. The youth have been waiting for their promises to be delivered.
*Sakaria Johannes is a student at the University of Namibia’s Faculty of Humanities doing a Bachelor of Arts (Honours).
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