By Frederick Philander
WINDHOEK
Forum for the Future (FFF) last week held its 3rd annual conference at Oniipa under the theme Building an Inclusive Society in Namibia, the civil society organization announced in a press statement.
Academic Dr Joseph Diescho shared the podium as guest speaker with retired politician, Herman Toivo ya Toivo, at the event that was attended by 115 representatives from around the country.
“The primary objective of the conference was to discuss a working document on the issue of inclusiveness in the Namibian society. The document will be distributed widely for open discussion and further input by the public. The conference appointed a 5-member editorial committee to work on the document till a civil education booklet is published before the next conference in 2008, containing the names of people who wish to promote its message,” said Samson Ndeikwila, the director of the FFF.
In his view the conference was necessitated by the ongoing deterioration of service delivery at public institutions across the country.
“At schools the failure rate has remained above 50% over the years at grades 10 and 12 with adverse consequences on the future of the youth. The situation in the health sector has reached a crisis stage. Officially, the unemployment rate stands at 36% and poverty is spreading,” he said.
The overall situation indicates that Namibia is easy prey to the spread of HIV/AIDS – now ranking third amongst the countries with the highest HIV infection.
“This whole situation is man-made and can be reversed. Therefore, as a nation, we need to reach a stage where we close ranks and hold hands as fellow Namibians above political-party affiliation and racial and ethnic origin, and make good use of the best brain in our midst. This is the only way we can effectively address and reverse the worsening situation in our country,” Ndeikwila said.
Ya Toivo talked about his ordeals as a captive in the hands of the apartheid South African government in a Pretoria prison and on Robben Island.
“Ya Toivo stressed that the slogan ‘One Namibia, One Nation’ implies that every Namibian should be made to feel at home among fellow Namibians. He advised that, in future, Namibians of different backgrounds and beliefs should be included in important conferences like this one. He asked the participants to go back as ambassadors proclaiming the message of inclusiveness in their respective communities,” the FFF-boss said.
Dr Joseph Diescho presented a discussion paper entitled Building an Inclusive Society in Namibia which formed the basis for conference deliberations. These discussions will form part of a booklet that will be published later this year.