Daniel Sampayo
To understand the future, you need to study the past. There has been a story taking place in front of our eyes without us seeing it. Some of the scenes are here, but this is just a short version of it. They say those who don’t learn from history are condemned to repeat its mistakes.
Our population is just over two million, and we have many natural resources. The first scene took place when the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) loans were cut. The second scene is the increase of pensioners’ money. Most people cheered about this increase. Next, the SME bank lost N$200 million, which was untraceable. Thomas Jefferson warned us that, “Banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.”
The fourth scene is when the figure of the National Assembly began to expand slowly. The fifth scene is the creation of the N$30 note. Next, street vendors and churches were told to pay tax (though the result was a flop). The NSFAF lost millions, and the boss of the organisation was suspended. In the past, students didn’t return NSFAF loans. Lately, they began running television commercials for those who benefited and working to return the loans, lest they face legal consequences. However, this too was unsuccessful to some extent. Today, the loans can’t cover the whole amount of some courses; meaning students need to top up themselves.
The GIPF lost N$600 million, which was untraceable too. Many old people are retiring, and the number of taxpayers is not increasing. But these pensioners receive monthly incomes from the diminishing amount of taxpayers’ money. The government has been running budget deficits lately, and inflation just skyrocketed.
Moreover, unemployment is sharply increasing. Ironically, tertiary institutions are training thousands of students for jobs that don’t exist. The State got tired of bailing out our airline until it got liquidated. The same is happening to TransNamib. It is Einstein who said insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results. Crime is rising countrywide.
The State added poverty eradication to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Social Welfare. However, in January of this year, The Namibian newspaper reported that 1.6 million people live in poverty. But, the State disputed this World Bank statistic. Of course, why should they not? It is our problem (you and me). With all the hardships people are going through, deputies in the National Assembly keep increasing, while fancy trips abroad and funding unnecessary projects continue.
Out there, politicians and bankers use fancy jargon to confuse us, and manipulate real statistics of what is going on. In his book Doublespeak 1984, George Orwell wrote, “To make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”
It is further from the truth for millions of dollars to get lost and untraceable. (Just think about it.) The conclusion of the story is that these events are quite intentional, to some extent. To know where the road leads, do your own analysis. Don’t rely solely on what you are told. There is something big forming up. It’s time to prepare for the economic winter that awaits all of us.