President Hage Geingob was in mean mood this week as he outlined plans for the year ahead – essentially reminding everyone that tangible results of his mission and vision would be fully observed this year.
It’s a good message that raises spirits in the country and which should cement the nation’s confidence in the President and his team.
If poverty, which is the biggest source of displeasure for the President, is to be practically addressed, implementation of key programmes would have to top this year’s agenda.
The inequalities we have in the country today are mostly inherited from the successive regimes of colonialism but an average Namibian today is only interested in how this would be resolved.
Indeed, inequalities are widespread and huge all over the country, be it in terms of income or overall quality of life.
Fighting poverty is a challenge that would require careful thinking. Stimulating economic growth, instead of handouts, is in our view the most realistic and sustainable tool to fight poverty.
Treasury has had sleepless nights thinking of introducing new tax regimes to help arrest the spiralling poverty in the country. That commitment is a great source of courage, but more so if such taxes are channelled towards economic stimulus packages so that we create demand for products and services, and therefore create jobs.
True, social welfare is a critical component of fighting poverty. In fact many Namibian households are living testimony of how old-age pension, disability grants and other similar packages have lifted them out of basic poverty.
We should continue channelling resources towards these issues, but never lose sight of the bigger and sustainable picture of investing in the economy so that it grows to produce jobs for the masses.
It’s important to keep in mind that the black population is still the one that is hit the hardest by the different effects of poverty in Namibia, although things are slowly getting better and a small black middle-class has emerged.
The extreme income inequality in the population is still considered a threat to social and political stability, which is why the issue is at the core of many policies undertaken by the government to date.
Enforcement of existing laws also needs serious attention this year. The exploitation of workers by greedy capitalist institutions continues unabated in our country, despite disctates of the law to the contrary.
Slave wages can never lift families out of poverty, which then makes our pronouncements against poverty a nullity and futile exercise.
Also, public spending must be pro-poor in nature if the overall objectives are to be attained. President Geingob needs the support of all and sundry. What is at stake here is the welfare of our nation, not individual legacies.
There’s therefore no reason to pull back and wait for the President to sail the ship alone. This is a turbulent sea that requires support for the captain to sail us through to the promised land of prosperity.