By Rev. Fr. Lukas Kaluwapa Katenda and Pastor Laban Shitundeni Mwashekele
WE, Pastors Lukas Kaluwapa Katenda of the Anglican Diocese of Namibia and Laban Shitundeni Mwashekele of the Evangelical Baptist Church in Namibia, like all other Namibians who are genuinely concerned about the well-being of the Namibian people, have learned through media with great concern, the intended project to construct a new Parliament for N$700 million.
Perhaps we must make it known from the outset that we are not against any infrastructure development, but we have a question as to what are our developmental priorities are. Without undermining the capacity of our political leaders to think and act in a way that they think is beneficial to the many communities across the nation, we are unconvinced that this is a genuine priority. This stance will remain until concrete reasons are given as to why the project is needed ahead of many pressing needs threatening our people on a daily basis. Let us assume that the new parliament building is built, what are the immediate benefits that the nation will receive from it? Will it mean more security, more jobs, more freedom, more food commodities, more plans to deal with droughts and floods, or what are we exactly going to receive from this project that we are not getting, because of the old parliament building, which in our view can still accommodate our parliamentary processes for a considerable time or years into the future?
Or, are there dangerous architectural defects that we may not be privy to?
We therefore urge our lawmakers, particularly those with the two-thirds majority to, in the name of accountable and transparent governance, come out in the open and explain to the Namibian nation the rationale behind the project. Our conclusion on this matter is that, there are differences between “needs and wants”, “affluence and moderation”, as well as “aristocracy and humility.” Compared to the current situation of many uneducated people, huge undeveloped areas and un-empowered citizens, we feel that this project is more of a “want” than a need, more of affluence than moderation, and more of an aristocratic [tendency] than humility, unless proven otherwise. We say this because, apart from big houses, big farmers, big farms etc., owned by few individuals, we live in the midst of poverty, unemployment, and thousands of landless people, who [subsist] on compressed communal land and squeezed houses build with corrugated irons sheets.
We therefore plead to our lawmakers to put aside the intended project, and use that money to address the immediate and pressing needs of the society, such as those indicated above, education of the young school leavers, e.g. the children of the liberation struggle, who remain our children, yet they are begging for food, the drought situation, recurrent floods, and many more. In the words of Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, in one of his speeches to Africa, when he visited Ghana on Monday, July 13, 2009, as summarized by Richard Dowden, under the heading “Fine words, but will Africa listen?”
One is likely to learn some leadership tips: The message was simple: “Africa’s future is up to Africans… the world will be what you make of it.” This has been said before, but as one Ghanaian remarked: “If a white foreigner tells you to clean up your mess, you treat it as an insult. If a brother tells you, you treat it as good advice.” And did Obama tell them.
“No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves, or police can be bought off by drug traffickers. No business wants to invest in a place where government skims 20 percent off the top, or the head of the Port Authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery.
That is not democracy, that is tyranny – even if you sprinkle an election in it – and now is the time for it to end… Africa doesn’t need strong men. It needs strong institutions.” Finally, in the light of what Obama had to say in Accra, and what we have indicated so far, we, as pastors and ministers of God’s word to God’s people in this land, in good faith and humility plead with our lawmakers and the government of the Republic of Namibia to treat this as a piece of advice and not an attack on the integrity of an elected leadership. And on that note, let those who have ears hear. God bless Namibia.