John Ekongo I have been deliberately avoiding the never-ending debates of the Namibian public with much of their expert opinion on every facet of life, but I must admit without much success. Clearly with all good intentions, I bring this debate to pen and paper in the hope that perhaps out there a few will agree or disagree with what I have to state here. I am not entirely happy with happenings in this country of ours. I am most definitely at the other end of my tether over the spate of corruption scandals plaguing our fragile country. What is happening here is outright theft that has continued God knows for how long, but the question is perhaps just about what the hell is going on. Our moral fibre, ethos and principles have for long seen the pit latrines that “meekulu” uses at the village. It is no longer sacred, but has rightfully become a resident of these facilities. For all I care is that a country as small as Namibia cannot afford to have someone sleeping on an empty stomach, orphaned children whose struggle is perilous and never ending, or an elderly who struggles to find enough to keep the extended family going with no certainty about tomorrow. I tend to believe this is not intentional, but then you ask endless questions like where does the money come from that appears to be in abundance? How on earth do you steal from the people that you are supposed to serve? When we steal we deprive poor Simasiku somewhere seated idle at a Cuca shop, Ouma Boois who sells fudge to the school kids despite being well into her senior age, or worse still the blind old lady whose journey to the clinic is in vain, because she will not find help at all. Or what about Mathias whose scrap and job hunting gives him nothing but N$20 to live on? If you look at it the irony is that these people have done us no harm yet we steal from them. They have trust in us, in fact many have sent us to schools so that we can help them with our fancy college degrees and MBAs. Have we no shame? Why do they deserve this punishment, the crime of greed and conspicuous consumption? They have remained loyal to the cause and every time in their hunger cramps and pains they still manage to queue up as early as 4am to cast a vote in the hope of something better – not a lot, but just to get by. In the end we get an air-conditioned office, nice pay cheque, access to funds just so that I steal more, besides I deserve it. And what do the vulnerable, the marginalized and the disadvantaged deserve? For long we have blamed Government, that it does not do this and that, and yet the very people who are doing the blaming are the ones ripping off this country in broad daylight with no consideration for the fellow man in the streets. With all good intention and noble principle the Anti- Corruption and Corporate Governance Conference has come and gone, but I will reserve my judgment for its effectiveness until a change of mindset is noticeable in many of our citizens. However, I will definitely have passed judgment and conclusion already that to all those who have meddled their hands in the honey pot, they are guilty, selfish, inconsiderate, unethical and foul mannered. But this is not all. In my view they don’t deserve to be called a citizen of this country. In my eyes you are not a Namibian but a self-assumed &*%$, who deserves no identity document or nationality in this Land of the Brave. Corruption is an enemy of the Namibian people, it is an enemy of the poor, it is an enemy of the sick, it is an enemy of the unemployed, it is an enemy of those who seek better education, above all it is a threat for democracy, peace, security, and stability. If these words do not stir anger in your soul and drive your desire to change, then you have no soul and consciousness. Then you belong on the other side of the fence and better still some prison outside the universe where we are not consistently reminded of your face. Eewa!