EDITORIAL: //Karas police list must anger all of us
The native people of the //Karas Region have smoke coming out of their ears in anger over their evident exclusion from the police recruitment process. And all of us should be fuming, not only //Karas natives.
You would swear the academics had //Karas in mind when they defined ethnic exclusion as when groups cannot fully participate in the typical activities of the societies in which they live, whether they are excluded economically or politically.
Defenders of this absurdity concocted a slew of excuses to justify the police shortlist, which is dominated by candidates of Owambo origin, with only islands of Nama names appearing on the list.
While the constitution states that Namibians have the right to live and work wherever in the nation, it does not state that this should be done at the expense of others, particularly the dominant population of such places.
It is generally accepted that indeed there are Aawambo to whom //Karas is the only home they’ve ever known. However, in comparison to the region's 67% Nama population, this group is a tiny minority.
Another fallacy frequently exploited by tribalists and lazy thinkers is that because Aawambo is the 'majority' tribe nationally, it would inevitably dominate the race for opportunities.
However, Aawambo make up just 49% of the national population, leaving the other tribes to collectively make up 51%. Conventionally, this would mean Aawambo can only gobble up opportunities proportional to their population, but the //Karas list shows otherwise.
You would swear the academics had //Karas in mind when they defined ethnic exclusion as when groups cannot fully participate in the typical activities of the societies in which they live, whether they are excluded economically or politically.
Defenders of this absurdity concocted a slew of excuses to justify the police shortlist, which is dominated by candidates of Owambo origin, with only islands of Nama names appearing on the list.
While the constitution states that Namibians have the right to live and work wherever in the nation, it does not state that this should be done at the expense of others, particularly the dominant population of such places.
It is generally accepted that indeed there are Aawambo to whom //Karas is the only home they’ve ever known. However, in comparison to the region's 67% Nama population, this group is a tiny minority.
Another fallacy frequently exploited by tribalists and lazy thinkers is that because Aawambo is the 'majority' tribe nationally, it would inevitably dominate the race for opportunities.
However, Aawambo make up just 49% of the national population, leaving the other tribes to collectively make up 51%. Conventionally, this would mean Aawambo can only gobble up opportunities proportional to their population, but the //Karas list shows otherwise.
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