The firestorm of criticism over the N$16.4 million tender awarded to President Hifikepunye Pohamba’s daughter Kaupumhote and her business partner Taschiona !Gawaxas touches on the essence of the individual rights of all Namibians. There is no question Kaupumhote and her partner were among the beneficiaries of this tender that sparked fierce criticism.
But there was need, especially from those who awarded the tender, to put things into perspective in order to avoid unnecessary accusations and conundrums.
The explanation by the presidential affairs minister cleared much of the confusion, especially on the chronology of events leading to the awarding of the tender.
The question that springs to mind is whether or not the children of politicians and other top ranking officials should be discriminated against on the basis of who their parents are when it comes to education, jobs and tender allocation.
Will such discrimination have any legal basis if challenged in a court of law?
And what will be the constitutionality of such economic apartheid and segregation considering that our constitution clearly says all Namibians are equal and should not be discriminated against on the grounds of sex, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed of social or economic status.
Isn’t discrimination in any format – be it in the economic, religious or social sphere outlawed by our supreme law, which is our Constitution? Have we as a nation forgotten the damage inflicted on our national psyche by the ruthless economic exploitation caused by previous apartheid laws that separated us into Bantustans unlike now when all Namibians are free and equal?
Should the children of our politicians not partake in any of the country’s economic activities – including bidding for tenders – simply because their fathers are politicians, CEOs or people who are very high ranking?
On what moral, ethical or religious grounds are we going to justify such segregation? And should the children of our politicians enjoy the same rights and privileges as the children of the have-nots in our society?
Yes, questions will naturally be asked when someone close to the powers that be gets a tender, but we must measure such news against the laws of the land.
If there is proof of foul play by any stakeholder in the matter, we would be the first to speak out against that.
Otherwise we are being unnecessarily alarmists over a non-issue.
Documents availed to New Era by the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) contain no evidence that Pohamba used his clout to rig the awarding of the tender to his daughter.
Scores of other Namibians benefitted from similar tenders of the NHE and this leaves us with a question of why it is an issue that these two young women also benefited.
A critical look at the progressive NHE criteria for the housing tender that caused so much brouhaha indicates that this scheme is generally meant to benefit all Namibians.
Participating foreign companies are also required to give a minimum of 30 percent contractor participation to Namibians, but this did not impress many armchair critics.
This set criteria is in line with government’s policy for local empowerment and for skills transfer from foreigners to Namibians.
Our country is fabulously endowed with natural resources and these resources should benefit Namibians from all walks of life.
There should be no room for discriminating against anyone, including children of political and corporate leaders, as long as things are done above reproach.