By Erastus Nikodemus
Affirmative action has in many fields, but particularly in the field of business, resulted in significant changes in the demographic structure of the shareholding, management and directorships of most companies and institutions in Namibia.
In essence, affirmative action has significantly changed the racial structure of the employees of most companies in the country. Affirmative action has played a pivotal role in achieving this. If we had tried to let this happen by legislating equality of opportunity alone, and hoping that change would have occurred naturally by osmosis without the transformation process being encouraged by obligatory affirmative action requirements, we would not have achieved as much.
Even though affirmative action has brought about changes in some sectors of our populace and institutions, it is however not true for the field of architecture.
The architectural profession continues to remain skewed in terms of racial representation. It is no secret that the architectural profession is still a “white-dominated profession”. This sad prevailing situation continues to perpetuate and widen the inequality gap among the Namibian people. One would like to think that after almost two decades of independence, Namibia should have been in a position to address some of these imbalances that were created by the political, social and educational injustices of the past.
The architectural profession is currently fragmented and under-skilled in certain areas. The majority of people from previously disadvantaged backgrounds continue to trail behind, because of our inability and reluctance to confront the prevailing status quo in the architectural profession. The participation and contribution of the majority has therefore not yet been tapped to the limits. Most of the people from less-than-fortunate backgrounds continue to live below their known potential and aspirations, and this has a detrimental effect on our developmental plans and agendas in the country.
At the moment there is a relatively low percentage of black or previously disadvantaged architects compared to the sum total of all qualified architects in the country. It is also a known fact that most of the architects practicing in Namibia emigrated from elsewhere, mostly from South Africa.
This imbalance stems from our colonial past where education was primarily based on ethnicity. This profession was therefore only reserved and preserved for whites, as many other critical professions in the country.
As a result a high number of Namibians from previously disadvantaged backgrounds only managed to reach the level of qualified architectural draughtspersons and architectural technologists.
I am fully conscious of the fact that one should not always blame the past, but the truth is that, today we are experiencing the effects of the past. And in order to effectively address the present conditions, we first need to have a very clear understanding of the past, and how it contributed to our present situation that is negatively affecting those from previously disadvantaged backgrounds who are in the field of architecture. Totally ignoring the past and its injustices could create potential opportunity for reoccurrence.
In essence, I also believe that this is an excuse of some people to run away from their social responsibilities.
Unlike in South Africa, architectural draughtspersons and technologists are however not recognised as part of the Architectural Profession in Namibia, in terms of work distribution by Government departments. There is also the popularly held notion within the profession that architectural draughtspersons and technologists should be employed by a professional architect in order to survive in the profession.
As a result, there are very few architectural draughtspersons and technologists establishing their own practices. This sad situation continues to fuel the economic imbalances in the country, as only one sector of the population enjoys and retains the economic power and skills.
Presently, architectural work is most tendered by Government departments, and presently architectural technologists are hardly considered when it comes to work distributions. I therefore strongly suggest that distribution of architectural work should include all the different levels of the architectural profession. The criteria to distribute architectural work should also consider and accommodate a significant proportion of previously disadvantaged individuals in ownership positions in the professional associations.
I believe that the best way is that the employer appoints a well-established and experienced “white” firm to work in association with a less experienced “black” firm to do architectural work jointly on equal basis. This is by far the most efficient and successful way to transfer skills, and also the most effective means of empowering competent persons (from previously disadvantaged backgrounds) to participate in the work of their profession, with the full confidence of the public and of employers.
The inclusion of all architectural practitioners in Namibia will form both the key and the door to identifying, unlocking and opening up the potential in the profession.
The diversity of skills, roles and needs will not only be united into a profession owned and shared by all the role players, but be a gift to the nation.
Unity can only be advanced by the identification and recognition of all the different levels of competence and expertise in architecture.
I believe that in order to maximise the value of the human resource potential in the architectural profession, it is necessary to clearly identify each level and to specify in detail the requirements for progression from one registration category to the next.
Finally, it is critical to note that accessibility of architectural education is the key to successful transformation in architecture. More bursaries need to be made available for people from previously disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue careers in the field.
Erastus Nikodemus is the owner and Managing Director of Nikodemus Architectural Design, an architectural firm at Oshakati. The company has been in existence for five years and has a work force of seven. ??????’??