We are at a critical juncture as a nation! Karsten Voigt, one of the great German thinkers opined, “Anyone who wants to be pioneer must first be capable of contemplation. Thinking ahead is thus nothing other than a form of contemplation directed towards the future.”
The type of contemplation that Voigt refers to has to do with political vision and values that guide the national discourse, as well as policy choices, and policy implementation methodologies that are rational, just and responsive to the aspirations of society.
These are, after all, the fundamental tenets of rebirthing, recreating and rekindling society, ravaged by poverty, underdevelopment and socio-economic injustices incomparable to many countries in the world.
Movements that seek to change world history often begin by rewriting history, thereby enabling people to reimagine the future. (Harari Y.N: 2015).
This truism applies in equal measure to national movements that intend on achieving national transformation.
Swapo, as a former liberation movement has fundamentally failed with regard to social transformation, moreover they have failed to consistently remain thinking ahead for building a better society.
This phenomenon is not unique to Namibia, but characterises most former liberation movements cum ruling parties in Africa.
Consumed by greed, materialism and crony-network corruption they have failed to bring about social transformation.
Society is fluid and dynamic, never static, and social-political dynamism is necessary for moving society forward.
The ruling party in Namibia seems to be suspended in space and time, their liberation politics of the 1960’s renders it redundant to answer the development challenges and opportunities for the 21st century.
Faced with a choice between loyalty to the historic struggle for a just society, and the alliance with global elitist capitalist interests, which is against the overwhelming interests of the people, the ruling elite always choose the global capitalist alliance. Swapo too is vested in this ideological and historic mistake.
Future-focused thinking requires of leaders that look ahead, and movements that confront brutal facts, extracting the truth from the facts and make bold decisions that will secure a better future for society.
Swapo’s divided politics so dearly falls desperately short of such ideological, futuristic and ethical pondering. This inability, and unwillingness writ large, for a forward socio-political leap, transcended into state organs and government structures.
It is therefore no surprise, that Namibia’s GDP has been on a downward spiral since 2015 with growth reaching up to 6.1% in 2015, deteriorating to – 0.1 in 2018, expected to further record decline for the next five years (LPM manifesto, 2019).
The brutal reality for many Namibians will be a future of hunger, deprivation, homelessness and grinding poverty.
All this because this banditry leadership is inappropriate and non-thinking.
Covid-19 has illuminated the afore-going. The current crises offer the greatest opportunity for fundamental economic reform.
The wage bill, which has handicapped our development budget, should be significantly reduced.
The government should immediately conduct an audit and find ways to cut the wage bill within the next 6-8 months.
The wage bill, which takes up about N$30 billion is a key factor in Namibia’s prevailing cash flow problems.
If we can manage to reduce this wage bill to about N$20 billion in order to use an additional N$10 billion to reboot the economy beyond the Covid-19 induced fallout.
Future-focused thinking will require of us to create a climate where truth is heard. Leadership is not only about power, influence and vision, but equally about creating a climate where the truth is heard, brutal facts confronted and bold decisions executed.
The South African President, Cyril Ramaphonsa engaged in dialogue with all leaders of political parties in an effort to show a united front against Covid-19.
However, the Namibian President and government have not dared to reach out to other political parties, this is not progressive and is not in the interest of creating a climate where truth is heard.
Namibia needs a new political platform to undertake transformative actions for restorative justice and social welfare in order to secure a better future for Namibia. We need a new breed of leadership that will create a climate for truth to be heard.
Most importantly, we need a leadership whose consuming passion will be future-focused thinking, where all actions and decisions will be influenced by the central desire of securing a better tomorrow for our Republic.
The long-term evolution of Namibian society beyond Covid-19 seems fraught with challenges, danger and risk. Social progress will only be possible with consistent thought about the future.