Dr Tuhafeni Helao
On 21 March 1990, thousands of Namibians braved the cold and windy morning, walking down the then Kaiser street, heading to what later became known as Independence Stadium to welcome the dawn of freedom and independence of Namibia. Though many had no refined knowledge and understanding of freedom, their hopes, dreams and expectations were encouraging. Surely, citizens envisioned a new Namibia of hope and dream realisation, inclusiveness, equality, youth empowerment and prosperity. None assumed to live in poverty three decades thereafter. Specifically, the defined moment of the lowering of the then Louis Pienaar administration flag, a the nervous and emotional hosting of the new Namibian flag, citizens could not imagine a future Namibia of new opportunities, social justice and economic enhancement for all. A new nation was born; hence, the hopes and thoughts of a better future appeared promising to resist. Certainly, no futuristic-minded person then could have imagined that the road to social justice and prosperity would be potholed and sadly a catch-22 conundrum. In short, nobody anticipated the current state of affairs to prevail. Putting into context the ‘catch-22’ notion, American writer Joseph Heller coined the phrase ‘catch-22’ in his novel in 1961 to illustrate a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules or limitations.
In simple English, ‘catch-22’ may refer to a “problematic situation for which the only solution out is denied by the circumstance inherent in the problem”. The scenario illustrated here may find expression in the current political and governance system as the nation meditates over livelihoods beyond the general elections in November 2024. The question is whether Namibian politics and governance have produced material outcomes over the past 33 years to encourage citizens to endure wearying queues and cast their votes in 2024. Applying a caveat to the above statements, this article maintains that it would be remiss to ignore the fact that Namibia is forever independent. Namibians will always treasure such milestone realisation amidst untold unintended consequences. Moreover, it would be administrative suicidal to suggest that Namibia does not have in place some well-designed and comparable policy frameworks and governance directions. Theoretically, Namibia could be counted among only a few nations in Africa that have some well-crafted policy directives.
Mauritius, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda and a few others may come to mind.
Among them, it is the current Zambian administration that shocked many in terms of unblemished focus and policy directives on socioeconomic reform. However, good policy frameworks do not necessarily imply beneficial and inclusive service delivery to all. Besides, comparable governance directions do not mean good governance. Politics and governance instruments may not mechanically translate into social justice and prosperity for all unless they are aligned with genuine participative philosophy. It is, therefore, the obligation of the three organs of state and their agencies to live up to promises made during general elections and thereafter. Those promises should remind those in power to reflect on what politics and governance have achieved against the realities on the ground. Politics and governance should not only retell the historic journey to social justice but also reassess the extent to which promises, hopes, dreams and political declarations have materialised. Politics and governance must serve as a platform to mirror critical questions about the plights of citizens, especially the rural hoi polloi. The condition in which society navigates has no space for unrealistic promises, bad governance and political statements that cannot see the light of day. Ordinary people wish to see socio-economic issues being resolved to their benefit. They want to see the unemployment rate reduced. They want to feel social justice in their midst. Politics and governance should be translated into dreams and hope realisation by providing housing, quality healthcare, a rewarding education system, electricity, clean water and sanitation to champion people’s livelihoods. Therefore, leaders must have pure hearts to see that most of the people are dependent on the government in their hope of making ends meet. People lack social and economic amenities. Yet, they are the potential electorates come 2024. Some may find this harsh reality hard to digest, but it is a real-life predicament. It should remind political leadership of the unfinished objectives of freedom and independence. Yes, Namibian politics has moved steps forward, and governance directions have set the tone for future institutional orientations.
The challenge is unethical leadership that has failed to translate politics and governance into appreciable outcomes, particularly for ordinary citizens. Despite regional comparability, Namibian politics and governance have not produced the benefits amenable to all in the past 33 years, considering the level of expectations for independence. The drawbacks seem to outweigh the benefits, specifically in rural areas. This article is cognisant of the power that may disagree with the above statements. However, the truth remains and must be narrated. Frankly speaking, political leadership has accepted the noble duty of crafting and implementing policies to pull people out of poverty; hence, they might not want to be seen failing in this challenging task.
Nevertheless, as one anonymous author once wrote, “A politician needs to stay in a poor man’s refuge for a while without the luxury she/he enjoys daily to see and feel the poor man’s pain in an independent country”.
In the author’s view, the experiment could serve as a learning lesson that cuts beyond political, policy and governance rhetoric.
The experiment may result in devising targeted policy instruments that focus on people’s needs. Similarly, John Locke contends that politicians and top bureaucrats must be the active voice and actions of the poor; failure to do that, “they must be removed from power”.
Evidently, Namibian politics and governance have produced mixed results over the past 33 years. It created visible dividing lines, frustrations and intolerance into some sectors of society. Imagine the feeling and thinking of an ordinary citizen who has no housing, no access to clean water, no electricity, no sanitation facility, sleeping on an empty stomach every other day, and has nothing to sustain his/he livelihood. For this person, the good intention of politics, governance and indeed patience is seen fading away and disappearing on the horizon. It confirms a well-orchestrated and calculated action to alienate people to the periphery of politics and governance system while donating opportunities for a few individuals, cronies and patrons to amass wealth.
Struggles, political party infighting and power struggles are “devils” besieging governance efforts discounting the values and norms of a caring nation. The situation translates into a skewed governance system that is less capable of visioning beyond the confine of existing laws and policies, some of which have little bearing on the plights and well-being of the people.
I argued in my previous article that “though freedom and independence were long overdue and zealously awaited”, the transformation appears to have been done in a rush, giving little time for those entrusted with this persuasive task to digest the contents and perhaps close all loopholes. As a result, the previously disadvantaged continue to carry the burden of the past injustice in socio-economic areas. What society experiences today are the consequences of our politics and governance making, for example, poor leadership, party politics and bad governance. Though there might be light at the end of the tunnel, it is still a “long walk to freedom” to address unemployment and eventually arrest poverty. The system had generous time to mend the injustice of the past; thus, attributing the present inability to deliver prosperity to colonialism is negligent. It should be underlined that the fundamental purpose of politics and governance is to mobilise support and resources that shape the direction of the government of the day. At present, this noble purpose appears misdirected. Perhaps a possible solution is to rebaptise domestic politics and governance and align them with acceptable global democratic principles, norms and values. As Namibia prepares for the 2024 general elections, political leadership should be reminded there are still people who have not experienced a platter, spoon and fork on a dinner table since Namibia’s independence. Contemporary politics and governance do not seem to represent a compelling urgency to arrest social injustice but availing opportunities for elites to benefit from the system. Political leadership still does not accept that the original purpose of politics “is to enable the members of society to collectively achieve important human goals they cannot otherwise achieve individually”.
Renowned philosophers, such as Aristotle and Plato’s notions of politics, put discernable weight on “people first” – and politicians and civil service as “real servants of the people”, a notion that was revisited by Burkey (1993). Nelson Mandela could not bring it closer when he said, “People must be the primary beneficiaries of politics and governance”.
Despite these schooling views, contemporary politics and governance put the “belly first” and do not accept that the governance system is designed for the people. Carl Jung asserts that “you can’t change anything unless you accept it”.
In the final analysis, the envisaged 2024
general elections must remind us of “a missed journey to freedom”. Perhaps we need to revive Vision 2030 (if not already late) and logically align it with people, policy, process, politics and governance to achieve the goals set in June 2004.
* Dr Tuhafeni Helao is a retired academic, with interest in politics, governance, comparative governance, service delivery and policing.