The fruits of impunity
Unlike our southern African neighbours, where so-called 'struggle currency' has largely been spent by liberation-movements-turned-ruling-parties, Namibians seem to gobble up quite eagerly that there is still much in the 'bank' for our ruling party.
No wonder there is an insatiable arrogance in some quarters when it comes to their brazen sticky fingers emptying swathes of the fiscus.
This is an impunity born of the singular belief that regurgitating struggle credentials will be enough to lure voters back into their kraal, come the 2019 general elections. It is an irresistible argument, given that elections in this country are fought around who did what in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and early 90s, rather than who has the best solutions and implementation plans for current issues.
This has killed vibrancy within our democracy.
Now that the land conference is done and dusted, this will be used as a stick to beat political opponents - especially those who boycotted the gathering.
But simply put: What are the immediate action plans we are supposed to measure the outcomes of this conference against and who will police the politicians, who for decades have not shown the appetite to get on with economic transformation through land ownership?
Elections are by their nature contested ground for the simple reason that politicians need to display the ability to deal with domestic issues, while navigating the global context, which shifts like soft desert sand under our feet.
Yet, in a one-party dominant so-called democracy, where struggle songs are sung to remind voters where their crosses should go, impunity breeds with catastrophic results.
We have been reaping this whirlwind in Namibia over the past decades, where a politically connected elite has been feasting on massive tenders and hair-brain projects, which have essentially crippled the fiscus.
How any supposed solutions, including to the equitable redistribution of land, will come about in this constrained economic environment is anyone's guess.
Issue-based elections also remain a pipe dream.
No wonder there is an insatiable arrogance in some quarters when it comes to their brazen sticky fingers emptying swathes of the fiscus.
This is an impunity born of the singular belief that regurgitating struggle credentials will be enough to lure voters back into their kraal, come the 2019 general elections. It is an irresistible argument, given that elections in this country are fought around who did what in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and early 90s, rather than who has the best solutions and implementation plans for current issues.
This has killed vibrancy within our democracy.
Now that the land conference is done and dusted, this will be used as a stick to beat political opponents - especially those who boycotted the gathering.
But simply put: What are the immediate action plans we are supposed to measure the outcomes of this conference against and who will police the politicians, who for decades have not shown the appetite to get on with economic transformation through land ownership?
Elections are by their nature contested ground for the simple reason that politicians need to display the ability to deal with domestic issues, while navigating the global context, which shifts like soft desert sand under our feet.
Yet, in a one-party dominant so-called democracy, where struggle songs are sung to remind voters where their crosses should go, impunity breeds with catastrophic results.
We have been reaping this whirlwind in Namibia over the past decades, where a politically connected elite has been feasting on massive tenders and hair-brain projects, which have essentially crippled the fiscus.
How any supposed solutions, including to the equitable redistribution of land, will come about in this constrained economic environment is anyone's guess.
Issue-based elections also remain a pipe dream.
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