Dr Job Shipululo Amupanda
In May 2019, Saima Mushimba was arrested at the Oshakati Intermediate Hospital. She had impersonated herself as a medical intern who studied in Russia and was stationed at the hospital’s casualty ward. She was reportedly identified by a man who had visited the hospital, from whom she had allegedly stolen a laptop in Windhoek. Mushimba was subsequently charged with fraud in contravention of Section 17 of the Medical and Dental Act.
How a thief ended up at the hospital and how she treated many people were lost in translation. However, an important question is this: what drove Mushimba to do what she did? If we are to gain access to her mind and consciousness, what will we find about her impression of our society? At independence, a man returned from exile and was stationed at Katima Mulilo State Hospital as a doctor.
He was popular and walked around wearing a white gown, even outside the hospital premises. When it was discovered that he wrote an incorrect prescription to a patient, it was decided that his profile and background be investigated.
It was subsequently discovered that he was not a doctor but was responsible for cleaning the wounds of injured soldiers in exile.
Owing to solidarity politics, his impersonation was condoned, resulting in his transfer to the laundry room, where he worked until retirement.
This begs another question: what if Mushimba, at Oshakati casualty, was aware of this Katima Mulilo case? A few weeks ago, the Cabinet resolved that Section 77(a) of the Electoral Act be amended.
This section was previously interpreted as requiring candidates employed in the public service, parastatals, and regional and local governments to first resign before their nominations on parliamentary lists are accepted. The amendment will clarify that they are only required to resign upon election. Why this absurdity was allowed in the first place is indicative of the crisis at hand.
With more than 20 political parties registered, it may mean that more than 2 000 Namibians are required to resign and gamble for 100 positions every five years. Experience is that only a few resign to “apply” for this position.
The result has been that the unemployed (some of them being semi-literate) and those in the private sector filled the vacuum, ending up in our Parliament and Cabinet.
Given that there is no minimum requirement for Members of Parliament (MPs), one can imagine the calibDr Job Shipululo Amupanda of exiled Namibians, known as Children of the Liberation Struggle (CLS), be employed in the public service in reserved positions without going through public service recruitment procedures. V
olunteer cleaners at the health ministry took up the matter with the Ombudsman, who took the matter to court.
The High Court ruled in March 2021, setting aside this Cabinet decision on CLS. More than 30 years after independence, even after implementing free primary and secondary education, there are decisions to employ individuals solely on the basis of the geography of their birth and not any other merit criteria, which is indicative of the tragedy of mind. These four cases clearly demonstrate how our country has subordinated meritocracy in preference to irrational and irrelevant considerations.
Ordinary Namibians are aware that our society and its leaders do not value meritocracy.
Our country is effectively a ‘zula to survive’ as one artist once sang, and you can ‘zula’ anywhere. For Mushimba, the place she found to ‘zula’, in our society that doesn’t value meritocracy, is at the casualty of the Oshakati hospital. Is there really a difference between Mushimba impersonating herself at Oshakati casualty and someone demanding a job in the national budget office because she was born in exile? All countries that have succeeded economically, even in the developing world, are those with serious and decisive leadership that values and champions meritocracy.
Indeed, meritocracy is one of the key characteristics of a developmental state.
State hospitals in developmental states do not host the Mushimbas, nor do central banks employ them on the basis of the geography of one’s birth. The political leadership in developmental states, in prioritising meritocracy, has understood that the culture of any society is shaped by the worst behaviour the leader is willing to tolerate, to borrow the phrase of Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker. The enlightened members of our society need to stand up to demand the best for our country.
Leaving state and public affairs in the hands of the semiliterate and desperate adventurists is fatal.
The enlightened in our country must recall the advice of philosopher Aristotle: “The wise who refused to rule should prepare to suffer the rule of idiots.” Next year, the National Human Resources Plan (2010–2025) comes to an end.
This plan does not refer to meritocracy even as a principle. We need to change this. For our public sector in general and public representatives in particular, the need for meritocracy and minimum requirements is urgent. We must require candidates for local authority, regional council, and National Assembly to at least meet a minimum educational requirement. Next time you hear statements that “education is not everything,” ask the educational background of the person making this statement. Assess how many are educated who are publicly declaring that education is not important.
These questions must be asked: Can the uneducated support education when it is used as a criterion? There is no basis, 34 years after independence, to have a school drop-out seated at the head of a table taking decisions on behalf of all of us. “Leaders are born,” some will retort. Wouldn’t a ‘born leader’ excel more with education? Even in African traditional society, meritocracy was always central.
Our traditional societies were always led by those skilled and knowledgeable in traditional affairs. Those at cattle posts are equally skilled and knowledgeable in taking care of the animals. A headman who is not knowledgeable about customary law and practices will find it hard to remain as headman.
We will never develop without meritocracy in general and minimum requirements and criteria for public representatives in particular.
*Dr Job Shipululo Amupanda is the activist in chief of the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement and former mayor of Windhoek. He holds a PhD in Political Studies from the University of Namibia where he is employed as a senior lecturer.