There is a Silozi idiomatic expression of closing the kraal gate after the cattle had either fled at midnight or been stolen. This renders the efforts useless as the animals have left, and may be almost impossible to retrieve them. The owners should have prevented this by heavily bracketing the kraal tree stalks. This is unfortunately the current situation, which is unfolding in many sectors in Namibia today. The daily calls for unity in the ruling party are justifiable, but the pioneers should have seen this scenario coming. Many free-thinking Namibians know that the factions in the ruling party come a long way during the days of the liberation struggle. Samson Ndeikwila in his book, The Agony of Truth, maintains that at Kongwa, tension started building up between the Caprivian cadres and the camp commanders, who were all Aawambo. The Shipanga rebellion and other dark incidents of the party in exile are known.  It is true that ruling political parties in the whole world have issues from within, and sometimes from without.

But these elements should be dealt with in the party, and the rest should be swept under the carpet that the ruled may not notice the dysfunctional machinery of the party. What the ruling party is doing is tantamount to washing their linen in public. It is equally unhealthy for a ruling party to be operating in two factions and expecting to unite the country.  

Honestly, is it in the realm of servant leadership for one to approach the courts to force the party to include a candidate hopeful in the race of a particular post being campaigned for? This does not augur very well for the political system, especially when one considers that this country was liberated through self-sacrifice, and many innocent Namibians shed their blood for our freedom. 

Our freedom should, therefore, not be taken for granted through selfish aggrandizement, but should appeal to our conscience and respect to “those whose blood waters our freedom.” We lost our relatives, yet some are not even accounted for, and here we are fighting for positions without due regard for those who contributed to our freedom. In addition to this saga, a few days ago, the head of state was heard lamenting ethnicity prevailing in many working places and among the youth. Ethnicity has become the hallmark of the Namibian working force. 

In most cases, one needs to be connected to get a job, despite one having the necessary qualifications. In Zambia, the system was once termed “wako niwako,” which literally means, “yours is yours,” and therefore comes first before anything else. This system has found root and established itself for 32 years without being checked, despite the affirmative action policy in place. 

It is no secret that even the higher institutions of learning are practising that by the leaders surrounding themselves in most key posts by fellow academicians from their ethnic groups. It is not verifiable that “only their own” are more qualified than others. How does one explain a situation where PhD holders are teaching at primary schools, while there are open vacancies at some of these institutions, but they fail to employ them? The only reason is that they don’t meet the ethnic qualification.

We cannot talk about the prevailing situations in the offices! It is incredibly ethnical! Visit the regional council and the local authority offices in Katima Mulilo, and see ethnicity at play. Whereas people jostle for nationalism, it should be known that in Africa, the system should adopt the concept of inclusivity, making everybody feel to belong to the power that be. Many people look up to government as the source of employment, which offers salaries crucial for their survival. If it was not like that, many people, including politicians, would be willing to step down at any time. 

But many politicians will cling to power in order to sustain themselves through salaries which are the taxpayers’ money, whom they ironically fail to serve. Politicians and other employers may claim it to be unethical to try and find out to which ethnic grouping one belongs. 

Nobody is suggesting that one should be asking prospective candidates their ethnicity, but it is equally important that the quota system be used. The most convenient method could be the constituency level system, where each constituency stands to benefit, as this is where the Namibian population is based. The ministry of defence finally adopted this method during their latest recruitment process, and it has worked wonders. Namibia belongs to all those who live in it, and they should feel part of the bigger family and nation. It is not ethnically-minded to think that even the vice presidential hopefuls were supposed to be balanced by slotting in even one from the South or North-East.

 That is how the ordinary person from the village will feel that his or her interests will be taken care of. If the issues of cliques are really in this country, how can one think that the people will not ponder along the same route if they feel not represented? To make matters worse, all nationalists are not known in many parts of the country because they make themselves invisible and inaccessible after 32 years of nationhood. Despite closing the kraal gate after the cattle had been stolen, the powers that be should find ways and means to include everybody in the process of nation-building.