EDITORIAL: Beyond laughter and champagne
State visits are the highest expression of friendly bilateral relations between two sovereign states. President Hage Geingob’s visit to South Africa this Thursday should thus be seen within this context – and more.
But beyond pleasantries and champagne toasting, there is so much the two countries can learn from each other.
South Africa, for example, can emulate Namibia’s relative lawfulness. The assassinations of musician AKA and Bosasa liquidator Cloete Murray in the space of a month - with no one arrested to date - are signs of a country headed in a very dangerous direction of anarchy. And no nation can grow, economically or otherwise, when chaos and lawlessness have it in a chokehold.
But - perhaps naturally - it’s Namibia that has a lot of learning to do. On paper, South Africa is one of the most open and progressive nations. Their diversity, whether sexual or linguistic, is ingrained in their constitution – and the country has strong institutions to ensure the supreme law of the land is not mere hot wind.
If it wasn’t for these institutions, powerful men such as Jacob Zuma or the supremacists of the erstwhile white regime would still be doing what they please.
Sport is another lesson we can learn from our neighbours. Soccer, rugby and cricket have cult-like followings, and the requisite infrastructure. The less said about the state of our sport infrastructure, especially football, the better.
But beyond pleasantries and champagne toasting, there is so much the two countries can learn from each other.
South Africa, for example, can emulate Namibia’s relative lawfulness. The assassinations of musician AKA and Bosasa liquidator Cloete Murray in the space of a month - with no one arrested to date - are signs of a country headed in a very dangerous direction of anarchy. And no nation can grow, economically or otherwise, when chaos and lawlessness have it in a chokehold.
But - perhaps naturally - it’s Namibia that has a lot of learning to do. On paper, South Africa is one of the most open and progressive nations. Their diversity, whether sexual or linguistic, is ingrained in their constitution – and the country has strong institutions to ensure the supreme law of the land is not mere hot wind.
If it wasn’t for these institutions, powerful men such as Jacob Zuma or the supremacists of the erstwhile white regime would still be doing what they please.
Sport is another lesson we can learn from our neighbours. Soccer, rugby and cricket have cult-like followings, and the requisite infrastructure. The less said about the state of our sport infrastructure, especially football, the better.
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Namibian Sun
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