In April this year, I wrote an article bemoaning the speed at which we seem to be lowering standards and embracing mediocrity in public institutions. 

That article, titled ‘Developmental State, Meritocracy and Minimum Requirements’ had these important lines: “Our country has subordinated meritocracy in preference of irrational and irrelevant considerations. Ordinary Namibians are aware that our society and its leaders do not value meritocracy. Our country is effectively a ‘zula to survive’ as one artist once sang, and you can ‘zula’ anywhere.

Countries that succeeded economically, even in the developing world, are those with serious and decisive leadership that valued and championed meritocracy. The enlightened members of our society need to stand up to demand the best of and for our country. 

Leaving state and public affairs in the hands of the semi-literate and the desperate adventurists is fatal. The enlightened in our country must recall the advice of philosopher Aristotle: “The wise who refused to rule should prepare to suffer the rule of idiots”. 

Those who read it were found prepared for what we are dissecting today.  

Our country is engulfed in a scandal that the election manifesto of the ruling party is not written by men and women who seriously considered our country’s developmental matters and devised solutions. It was ostensibly generated by a computer application called ChatGPT. When this was pointed out, the ruling party sent Efraim Nekongo to defend the party. No one with a reputation to protect was sent. Strangely, he referred to methodological aspects followed and claimed that a certain Mwaala Lubinda verified this methodology. 

Nekongo does not state the authoritativeness of Lubinda who appears to be an agriculturalist. As soon as Nekongo statement emerged, screenshots of evidence emerged clearly indicating and demonstrating parts and quantum that were generated via ChatGPT. Nekongo must be forgiven for three reasons. Firstly, he has never entered the doors of any university lecture room as a student.  To expect him to comprehend complex matters of research methodology is the same as taking a cattleman from the cattle-post into a bio-medical laboratory expecting him to identify O-positive blood from several blood samples or to make determinations related to pathogens. Secondly, since he has no idea how ChatGPT works and because he may have seen some comrades with laptops working on the manifesto, he may have believed that the manifesto was really created by laptopped comrades. Thirdly, the Swapo youth league constitution states that their primary role is to serve as a “transmission belt”. 

In a factory or any assembly line, a ‘transmission belt’ is to move whatever is placed on it from one place to the other, with no role in the production process.  Unlike the machine, it does not process or produce. For as long as power/electricity is on and the operator switches it on, it will move and transmit. 

Viewed differently, when someone curriers expired can of fish through DHL or NamPost, can these currier companies take blame for the expired food? 

As a transmitting belt of the ChatGPT manifesto, Nekongo can thus not be blamed for the ChatGPT content. It is simple; he has no idea; the matters are above his mental weight and it is his role to transmit and defend whatever is on the transmitting belt. 

He did well for his party, in the circumstances, although no serious mind will take him seriously. 

There is a bigger problem, and one can only determine this problem by zooming into this scandal thoroughly. 

The question that must be asked is: Who opened ChatGPT, entered the commands and copied the ChatGPT answers into the alleged manifesto? 

We understand the manifesto is firstly compiled by the alleged Swapo think pot. This think pot consists of several CEOs, several professionals including vice chancellors and deputy vice chancellors of our universities and executive directors of several ministries. 

Did the think pot resolve on ChatGPT method? How do we know that these individuals do not run important national institutions using ChatGPT? Furthermore, it was announced that this ChatGPT manifesto was approved by Swapo central committee consisting of several ministers and even people whom we thought were of sound mind? How did they approve a ChatGPT manifesto? 

If professionals, academic leaders, ministers, executive directors and all those parts of the Swapo pot machineries can be associated with intellectual dishonesty at this level, how is this not an indictment on our country? Think of what ambassadors and diplomats in our country have already reported back to their countries on this matter. 

One may be tempted to think this is a mere accident and an oversight although it passed through more than 300 eyes, part of the Swapo collective leadership of pots. But when this is put into perspective, there appears to be a pattern. 

Recently, Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah had to explain herself publicly following her fake announcement that on 28 August 2024, the contractor will be on site to start the renovation of Independence Stadium. This did not happen of course. She informed the public that they assured her in writing that this would happen. She interestingly remarked: “We cannot continue to lie to the public”. Her choice of words being the “we” and “continue” confirmed what we already know that the Swapo regime has been lying to the public. 

To her credit, she wants to end the lies. But a criminal should first be tried, sentenced and rehabilitated. This is not the only recent Swapo lie. 

In July, Vice President Nandi-Ndaitwah launched another Swapo document that claimed that since 1990, the Swapo regime acquired
3 483 083 226 hectares of agricultural land. The same document also claimed that 603 farms were acquired since 1990.  It is not possible to acquire 3 billion hectares in Namibia simply because the total size of land in Namibia is only 82 million hectares. Total farmland is only 39 million hectares. Since 1990, until few months ago, only 501 farms were acquired and not 603 as claimed by the Swapo document. 

Could this be another ChatGPT scenario? 

This is not just an isolated Swapo matter. It is a serious problem that can easily spread, if it has not already spread, into public institutions. What if the Namibia Statistics Agency, home affairs, police statistics and ministry of finance normalises this culture of lies and using ChatGPT on important national matters? 

This is a serious matter and we must all be alarmed. If a vice chancellor of Nust/Unam, education executive directors and higher education minister are creating, approving and supporting ChatGPT documents to run the country, why should university students not do their assignments and master’s thesis using Chat GPT? 

This culture is dangerous and the first casualty will be our higher education. When our higher education is gone, the second casualty will be our human resources frameworks and mechanisms. When this happens, our economy will follow, and the results will be a failed state. Imagine a combination of dishonest hungry ‘intellectuals’ and overzealous tin-brains surrounding the national pot cooking meals for our children. 

Indeed, unlike the stomach that makes a noise when empty, a brain does not alert anyone when empty.

**Job Shipululo Amupanda is an associate professor in political studies at the University of Namibia and the activist-in-chief of the Affirmative Repositioning movement.