Locals

It is completely unacceptable that 27 years after independence Namibia is still lagging behind the rest of the continent regarding the transformation agenda. Whilst other nations have made it a priority to massively transform various sectors of their economies, the same cannot be said about Namibia, because the challenges continue to persist to the detriment of many of our countrymen and -women who remain economic bystanders. Government interventions have not yielded the desired results in many sectors of our economy. It goes without saying that there appears to be skewed transformation happening on the ground, one that opens the way for the personal enrichment of a few elite, while the majority continues to endure suffering. A classic example is in the engineering sector where black professionals continue to complain that the playing field is not level. This is exacerbated by our own government's negligent attitude and its failure to protect our home-grown engineers by roping in foreigners at the expense of locals. It has taken the intervention of a body such as the Namibian Society of Engineers to pressurise government into ensuring the growth of an equitable representation of black engineers. We have the same problem with Namibian dentists and other health professionals who can't find decent jobs after receiving formal education abroad. In some instances foreign doctors are given preferential treatment ahead of our own locals. Namibians are clearly disillusioned with this arrangement, which shows no sign of diminishing even at a time when health authorities are trying to fill vacancies. The government must play an active role in coming up with an enabling environment, which includes allowing training issues to be aired and resolved more effectively. Young Namibians are forever reminded that education is central to the country's transformation agenda in dealing with socio-economic challenges, yet employment opportunities vanish into thin air when they are ready for the job market. We understand the fact that many foreigners originate from countries with struggling economies, but it is nevertheless unfair that Namibians have to play second fiddle to foreign labour all the time.