Daniel Sampayo

We are living in an information age. Those who are upgrading their knowledge are the ones who will emerge from the financial crisis in Namibia. Information is everywhere, and it is often free. Yet, most people are sedentary when it comes to learning. 

There are two unfair advantages on how to survive in a financial crisis. One is by default - for those close to the elites (politically-connected), and the other is for those with up-to-date knowledge. Information that enables you to become an entrepreneur in a long run. Looking at the journey to success, it seems old-fashioned in this era. In his book Man’s Search for Himself, Rollo May wrote, “The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardness, it is conformity.”  Today, society is only focused on hunting for jobs. We don’t understand that industries have lag time to implement changes. For instance, if you are a teacher, it means you will at least wait for a lag time of 10 years before a new school is built. The question is, are you going to sit and wait for a job for a duration of 10 years? Remember, after this duration (10 years), people with qualifications will double or triple; again adding another unemployed load to the existing number. 

Furthermore, we complain more than focus on doing something. We are focused on entitlements, which begins at the very top. It seems as if the government owes each one of us jobs and benefits. Any single thing, it should be the state to fix, while we shelter further into our comfort zones. Why does a graduate suffer to a point of despair, while knowledge is a bargain everywhere? How are those with only formal education making a living?  

Today, we avoid crucial topics such as personal finance and sex. Yet, many people are in serious financial problems, and the statistics of HIV/AIDS and teenage pregnancy are rising. Moreover, hundreds of thousands depend on the government for life’s necessities. At the same time, the state is finding it hard to run the social security obligations. Hence, huge loans are piling up to cover the social security programmes. Ironically, when the press reports this, citizens cringe and bite their tongues in amazement. On the far end is that we the citizens are growing our appetite for entitlements. One sad truth people are not aware of is that when the expansion of money (inflation) expands just for the sake of consumption rather than production, life gets even harder and harder. More welfare means high taxes, inflation, high consumer prices, high unemployment and social unrest.  There is a Chinese proverb that says, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” With a change in knowledge, people can have a better chance to cope in days ahead and feed themselves. We should be focusing on teaching man to fish, not to give man fish. The big shift should be in expanding our knowledge, and understand that the old ways of doing things can’t work in this era. Gone are the days when being in university meant after graduating, a secure job was guaranteed. Yesterday is gone. Today is a new day. 

In closing, the world of the future belongs to those who can embrace change, view the future and anticipate its needs, and respond to new opportunities and challenges with ingenuity and passion. Education is important, but we should diversify our chances, which will enable us to survive in the future world that is uncertain of opportunities, (jobs). More than ever, this is the time to stay on the unfair advantage via knowledge, or conform to the old ways and let the
financial crisis clouds fall on us.