David Junias

The writing of this piece stems from negative criticism laid upon the Green Hydrogen Commissioner and Presidential economic advisor James Mnyupe’s statement, which conceptualised the need of embracing foreign skills to touch Namibia’s projects or the green hydrogen development in particular, which was his point of direction. 

The writer traces the development of the statement. What motivated such a sensitive opinion? When someone laments the need of embracing foreign skills, it simply means that someone has observed low levels of foreign skills’ embracement in the country, or even zero embracement of foreign skills. 

The statement is subjective to personal judgements and criticism. This means that individuals would judge the statement in their own way. My point of view on the statement under discussion is that it lands as an encouragement for Namibians to embrace foreign skills. 

A group of Namibians, however, digested the Green Hydrogen Commissioner’s statement differently and perceived it as an insult to native competencies and skills. When the issue at hand is further dissected, it highlights an enhanced underlying need to address our lack of specialised skills in key areas of national development rather than mere critique. 

The need for Namibia to embrace foreign skills is not enough. Namibian people need to adopt foreign skills. The point is, Namibia is demanding or targeting development that does not conform to the existing skills and competencies of local people. 

When a country aspires to touch projects and achieve development that cannot be spurred by native competencies, then automatically, and no doubt, there would be a need for flight tickets for foreign experience to touch on ambitious projects such as the green hydrogen development. 

For example, if the development of green hydrogen was a small project, that its development meets the native skills and competencies, then there wouldn’t be a cry for embracing foreign skills. However, at the moment, there is no choice but to truly embrace foreign skills in the development of complex projects such as the green hydrogen development. 

The cry for foreign skills’ embracement is not an insult to native skills and competencies. It is just truth for its own sake. This call for embracing foreign skills even sends a wake-up call for native skills upgrade. When countries lack skills and competencies in certain fields to touch on their native projects and development, they are faced with two options: To import or adopt foreign skills. 

Adopting skills is far better than importing. When skills are imported and not adopted locally, it triggers routines of importing foreign skills. When countries heavily rely on imported skills, it even disallows the local development of skills and competencies, because they will be trapped in a dependency syndrome. 

In general, dependency is bad for the dependent variable. For example, a child who is highly dependent on parents’ support, even when the child can support oneself. This child rarely develops the skills of supporting oneself because of the excessive dependence on parents. 

Abraham M. Hirsch, in his piece titled importing and adopting skills, supports the adoption concept of foreign skills. He writes that the receiving society (country adopting foreign skills) must accommodate itself in many ways to the emergence within it of a group that has adopted new skills. The holders of the skills will demand themselves a new place in the social structure and economy. The receiving society is then supposed to create a space for foreign skill holders to exercise their skills, and even pass on these skills to native workers. 

The adoption of foreign skills has been successful in other countries. In Japan, foreign skills were adopted, and helped them end feudalism. The Japanese had a good landing for adopting foreign skills, in which their two groups were eager for new status and new roles. In India, groups (Parsees) adopted foreign skills, which have improved India’s technical, commercial, banking and scientific areas. 

The statement by the commissioner, even though very sensitive, sets a realisation that the country lacks skills and competencies in major projects and development. The statement, “Namibia should embrace foreign skills”, should encourage the country to take up space to adopt and embrace foreign skills. 

David Junias holds an honours degree in business management from the Namibia University of Science and Technology. Email: davidjunias@gmail.com