If we do not act to address long-standing gripes about worker exploitation and a free pass for foreign nationals who invest in Namibia, we should prepare to see the masses in the streets more regularly and maybe a little angrier.

The protests against the perceived preferential treatment of Chinese businesses and the protracted attempts by two of the protest leaders to be freed on bail dominated the news this week. 

Followers of the Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters and Affirmative Repositioning Movement on Wednesday took to the streets to air their grievances against Chinese shop owners and how they conduct business in Namibia.

This followed a chaotic impromptu protest at Windhoek’s Chinatown complex on Friday that saw arrests and injuries to protestors, bystanders and journalists after the police’s seemingly scattergun approach to crowd-control.

During Wednesday’s march to Chinatown, the ministries of home affairs, trade and the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA), the protestors aired grievances and demanded action on an array of issues, including alleged harassment of Chinese shop workers, low pay, illegal hoarding of cash, tax evasion, human rights offences and racism.

These are not new allegations, and they are not exclusive to the Chinese business community. 

However, there’s a growing anti-Chinese sentiment that political formations looking to expand their support base have exploited. 

We know what can happen if xenophobia spreads and really take root.

Ignoring labour laws and exploiting workers have been going on for far too long, and those entrusted to enforce the law have clearly fallen short of what is expected of them.

While NamRA’s burning of N$5 million worth of confiscated counterfeit goods should be commended, we need to ask how so many of the same items slip through their fingers and get into the country and are being sold by an array of local and Chinese shops. 

Some of these local shops are allegedly owned by the very customs officials who are entrusted to stop the counterfeit goods from entering the country.

As much as NamRA has tried to fight the fires this week, they have been caught with their pants around their ankles, and they have serious questions to answer if the allegations of large-scale tax evasion have any truth to them.

Equally, the labour ministry should inform the nation what they have done to stop the exploitation of workers by businesspeople of all stripes, but the allegations around Chinese-owned shops have been going around for far too long.

The protestors made a valid point when imploring the trade ministry to create a level playing field for local small and micro businesses. 

 There is nothing wrong with wanting to protect local SMMEs. Government has done it for years for much larger – much older sectors. 

Let us work to avoid protests that will only become bigger, possibly violent and definitely more disruptive. 

There is a massive number of disgruntled, energetic, impressionable young minds out there with nothing to do but toi-toi and show their discontentment.