State of individual rights worry ombudsman
Namibia is not doing badly in terms of people’s civil and political rights, but the country must do much better in respect of individual rights, Ombudsman Basilius Dyakugha said.
He believes Namibians are suffering in terms of their economic, social and cultural rights.
"Those rights mainly address things like the right to health, the right to housing and access to adequate water and sanitation - those are the challenges that many Namibians face in our current circumstances," he said.
Speaking to Namibia Media Holdings ahead of Human Rights Day on Monday, Dyakugha said while government is not entirely innocent, Namibians are also depriving each other of human rights.
More equal than others
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually on 10 December and is, according to him, a day on which progress and improvement in terms of human rights can be determined.
Dyakugha said Namibia must continue to promote human rights "like many other countries", and added that he believes Namibia is roughly at the halfway mark where he would be satisfied with the state of human rights in the country.
"We are not doing badly in terms of human rights, which are provided for in the Namibian Constitution - such as people's civil and political rights. It is mainly in respect of people's individual rights that we struggle. We are all equal before the law, but we are the most unequal country in the world in terms of income and the distribution of our resources," he said.
“We need to get our priorities right in relation to our resources. Many people believe our resources are scarce, but in reality, what makes it scarce is that our priorities are misplaced and there is a man-made emergency," he said.
"If a government agency today buys Mercedes Benz vehicles for office-bearers and the next day you decide it's not enough and then you buy sport utility vehicles, that's when you make resources scarce. Because you buy the same thing three or four times when you could have spent that money on other things that you don't already have,” he said.
"We must always examine the background when we say the resources are scarce. Is it really scarce or is it due to our own doing?”
Restricted funds
Dyakugha further said his office's funds are limited.
"We don't have the money to, for example, investigate complaints of corruption. We have a role to play in the fight against corruption together with the Anti-Corruption Commission [ACC] - just like any other citizen of this country. Investigating corruption is not part of our mandate, but where a citizen approaches us with evidence of corruption, we will refer them to the ACC," he said.
The Ombudsman then took aim at local authorities, saying: "[They] must do their job to ensure human rights, such as the provision of water. The same applies to housing and sanitation - they are going to have to work hard".
He added that the demolition of informal settlements is a blatant violation of people's rights.
"Just think if a child goes to school one day and they come back after school and their house just isn't there any more...”
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He believes Namibians are suffering in terms of their economic, social and cultural rights.
"Those rights mainly address things like the right to health, the right to housing and access to adequate water and sanitation - those are the challenges that many Namibians face in our current circumstances," he said.
Speaking to Namibia Media Holdings ahead of Human Rights Day on Monday, Dyakugha said while government is not entirely innocent, Namibians are also depriving each other of human rights.
More equal than others
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually on 10 December and is, according to him, a day on which progress and improvement in terms of human rights can be determined.
Dyakugha said Namibia must continue to promote human rights "like many other countries", and added that he believes Namibia is roughly at the halfway mark where he would be satisfied with the state of human rights in the country.
"We are not doing badly in terms of human rights, which are provided for in the Namibian Constitution - such as people's civil and political rights. It is mainly in respect of people's individual rights that we struggle. We are all equal before the law, but we are the most unequal country in the world in terms of income and the distribution of our resources," he said.
“We need to get our priorities right in relation to our resources. Many people believe our resources are scarce, but in reality, what makes it scarce is that our priorities are misplaced and there is a man-made emergency," he said.
"If a government agency today buys Mercedes Benz vehicles for office-bearers and the next day you decide it's not enough and then you buy sport utility vehicles, that's when you make resources scarce. Because you buy the same thing three or four times when you could have spent that money on other things that you don't already have,” he said.
"We must always examine the background when we say the resources are scarce. Is it really scarce or is it due to our own doing?”
Restricted funds
Dyakugha further said his office's funds are limited.
"We don't have the money to, for example, investigate complaints of corruption. We have a role to play in the fight against corruption together with the Anti-Corruption Commission [ACC] - just like any other citizen of this country. Investigating corruption is not part of our mandate, but where a citizen approaches us with evidence of corruption, we will refer them to the ACC," he said.
The Ombudsman then took aim at local authorities, saying: "[They] must do their job to ensure human rights, such as the provision of water. The same applies to housing and sanitation - they are going to have to work hard".
He added that the demolition of informal settlements is a blatant violation of people's rights.
"Just think if a child goes to school one day and they come back after school and their house just isn't there any more...”
– [email protected]
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