Is the Harambee Prosperity Plan progressive?
By: Joseph Tobias
The phrase “let’s pull together in the spirit of Harambee” has become like a song to many Namibians, especially politicians, but councillors mostly. Sometimes you become inclined or forced to think they do not understand it entirely, at least not in detail, not the whole purpose and explanation behind the phrase. But they do understand the sound of it, which would certainly give them a clue of what exactly it means. In my own understanding the phrase should be significantly as meaningful to us as the president’s phrase of “no one should feel left out” meaning no one should feel left out not only in the country’s development but also the benefits that come with it. The burden of drought, hunger and poverty, and the lack of better shelters, cheap and affordable housing, accessible and clean drinking water, clean city, locations and towns and communities and electricity provision, all these are things we need to overcome together. This means the whole nation and country work or pull together for the greater good, holding hands perhaps, and we all strive toward economic emancipation, maturity and also economic growth and no one feel left out of the work done to achieve this or the fruits it’s bound to bear in the near future.
However, not every citizen in the country feels this is the case. I for one certainly cannot say we are all pulling in the same direction. Considering how wide the gap between the rich and poor is widening, or has widened over the last couple of years, considering the inequality that still persists in our country, considering the benefits that the powerful politicians and high-profile officials get that a lot of our general citizens do not. How can we pull in the same direction when some people are living on empty stomachs, struggling to get work even with their degrees in hand, struggling to earn minimum income, to buy food or clothes, living in shacks, paying electricity and water from their already depleted pockets? All this happens while others live in mansions and travel without covering for any expenses. While people are out there struggling with jobs, water, electricity expenses, payments and whole other different struggles that can simply be avoided and settled with a little sum of money, our distinct politicians and honourable are planning on building billion-dollar parliaments, airports, increasing their own salaries, even an 80% water and electricity increment in subsidies for ministers was reported earlier. This money can be used to help other people who are in greater need of it. What do they use their money for? Water is paid for them, transport, electricity and even housing. Do they even know what it means to spend the money they have been hardly working for all month like every citizen out there? More importantly, do they know how it feels to get along, let alone pull in the same direction with a person with a full stomach from food that he/she didn’t even spend on with a person who spent everything he/she’s had on that food and yet not be satisfied?
People are having real life struggles in the streets throughout the country. They have no money, no food, no water; no basic needs to survive, not everyone feels like we are pulling in the same direction, not everyone feels the spirit of Harambee as many politicians are preaching these days.
Our politicians need to understand the phrase before they preach it out to innocent and poor citizens out there and do something about it. They should experience and be familiar with the ordinary lives and tribulations of general citizens, their struggles in life and every aspect of it, their living conditions. Actions speak louder than words. “Let’s pull together in the spirit of Harambee” is an inspirational phrase, one that is believable or can be believable to anyone, in saying possibly! But we need to see action, progress, help, assistance and development, for people to realise that we are indeed pulling together in the same spirit. The inequality gap, the gap between the rich and poor or let us say the gap between the people with access to state or government resources and the general citizens, needs to be reduced, we need to be on the same page, on a level playfield for us to get along, to be in the same spirit and finally pull and work together. It’s the only way we could possibly tell our citizens to pull together in the spirit of Harambee, the only way we can make them believe and have hope and feel that they are not left out of building this Namibian house or the fruits it’s destined to bear. The newly introduced food bank can be seen as such. Credit where it’s due. The help would indeed make the periphery feel and believe that they are not being left out of the Namibian house.
*Joseph Tobias is a graduate in the Department of Politics and Administrative Studies at the University of Namibia
The phrase “let’s pull together in the spirit of Harambee” has become like a song to many Namibians, especially politicians, but councillors mostly. Sometimes you become inclined or forced to think they do not understand it entirely, at least not in detail, not the whole purpose and explanation behind the phrase. But they do understand the sound of it, which would certainly give them a clue of what exactly it means. In my own understanding the phrase should be significantly as meaningful to us as the president’s phrase of “no one should feel left out” meaning no one should feel left out not only in the country’s development but also the benefits that come with it. The burden of drought, hunger and poverty, and the lack of better shelters, cheap and affordable housing, accessible and clean drinking water, clean city, locations and towns and communities and electricity provision, all these are things we need to overcome together. This means the whole nation and country work or pull together for the greater good, holding hands perhaps, and we all strive toward economic emancipation, maturity and also economic growth and no one feel left out of the work done to achieve this or the fruits it’s bound to bear in the near future.
However, not every citizen in the country feels this is the case. I for one certainly cannot say we are all pulling in the same direction. Considering how wide the gap between the rich and poor is widening, or has widened over the last couple of years, considering the inequality that still persists in our country, considering the benefits that the powerful politicians and high-profile officials get that a lot of our general citizens do not. How can we pull in the same direction when some people are living on empty stomachs, struggling to get work even with their degrees in hand, struggling to earn minimum income, to buy food or clothes, living in shacks, paying electricity and water from their already depleted pockets? All this happens while others live in mansions and travel without covering for any expenses. While people are out there struggling with jobs, water, electricity expenses, payments and whole other different struggles that can simply be avoided and settled with a little sum of money, our distinct politicians and honourable are planning on building billion-dollar parliaments, airports, increasing their own salaries, even an 80% water and electricity increment in subsidies for ministers was reported earlier. This money can be used to help other people who are in greater need of it. What do they use their money for? Water is paid for them, transport, electricity and even housing. Do they even know what it means to spend the money they have been hardly working for all month like every citizen out there? More importantly, do they know how it feels to get along, let alone pull in the same direction with a person with a full stomach from food that he/she didn’t even spend on with a person who spent everything he/she’s had on that food and yet not be satisfied?
People are having real life struggles in the streets throughout the country. They have no money, no food, no water; no basic needs to survive, not everyone feels like we are pulling in the same direction, not everyone feels the spirit of Harambee as many politicians are preaching these days.
Our politicians need to understand the phrase before they preach it out to innocent and poor citizens out there and do something about it. They should experience and be familiar with the ordinary lives and tribulations of general citizens, their struggles in life and every aspect of it, their living conditions. Actions speak louder than words. “Let’s pull together in the spirit of Harambee” is an inspirational phrase, one that is believable or can be believable to anyone, in saying possibly! But we need to see action, progress, help, assistance and development, for people to realise that we are indeed pulling together in the same spirit. The inequality gap, the gap between the rich and poor or let us say the gap between the people with access to state or government resources and the general citizens, needs to be reduced, we need to be on the same page, on a level playfield for us to get along, to be in the same spirit and finally pull and work together. It’s the only way we could possibly tell our citizens to pull together in the spirit of Harambee, the only way we can make them believe and have hope and feel that they are not left out of building this Namibian house or the fruits it’s destined to bear. The newly introduced food bank can be seen as such. Credit where it’s due. The help would indeed make the periphery feel and believe that they are not being left out of the Namibian house.
*Joseph Tobias is a graduate in the Department of Politics and Administrative Studies at the University of Namibia
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