2015-07-17Staff Report 2 The Brits are a nifty bunch of people, especially in matters of popular culture. I know that you might not agree, but that’s a misdemeanour I’m willing to accept. I’ve always like British television, to a point that I became an adherent fan – from series to everything in between. One programme I love is the popular series: ‘Come Dine with Me’. Come Dine With Me centres on five complete strangers, who take turns to host what they consider to be the ultimate dinner party. The guests give them points and at the end of the competition, the host with the most points wins a cash prize. There’s no end to what these contestants will do in their quest to win. Ideally it should be a manageable affair – after all what can be so difficult about five people with different backgrounds, emotions, character, personality and intuition who find themselves in one room. I know what you’re thinking: what is he ranting on about? Is it another column about the land and Affirmative Repositioning (AR)? You are right. To get back to the come-dine-with-me analogy, I’ll tell you what I imagine it would be like to have Attorney General Sacky Shangala, Police Inspector General Ndeitunga, AR’s Job Amupanda, Nico Kaiyamo and Henny Seibeb as guests for an episode of Come Dine With Me. It will make for one epic showdown If you think like me, the likelihood that both will score each other lousy marks is quite high and considering the weeks of ongoing shenanigans that we have observed, with Sacky calling the young lads “aspiring criminals”, and the hard-done-by Omalaala lad retaliating by calling the AG a man with an ego the size of Pluto (well not in the exact words but something close). As for Ndeitunga, Job called him “a land grabber”, obviously referring to the Kavango land fiasco and the Top Cop in return said he will unleash his best riot squad to handle the unruly youth. Puns aside, AR is wrong, so too is the State, in as far as these threats and rhetoric of ‘we are not afraid of politics’ are concerned. It’s not healthy. We’re forgetting the point – and the point is land, but what we are doing now is not listening to each other, but fighting each other through land issues aggravated by a massive post-2012 Swapo congress hangover. That is nothing but ego strokes at play. Just as in ‘Come Dine With Me’ it’s all about a powerplay, who thinks he is the best, who is right, and who is representing who, and why they think their cause is necessary. Land is a thorny issue and we are all in agreement that it is needed and that majority of youth want land, especially urban land to build their shelters. I think it’s best we not lose direction and focus. What I don’t take lightly is the vile nature of the persistent name-calling, the below-the-belt jibes, sensational facebook crusades and pseudo-revolutionary rhetoric. So my advice, gents relax, send out the dinner invitations, sit around the table have a good meal and a good conversation. What harm can it do if you dine with AR. By the way, I’ve already affirmatively repositioned mine. Sorry ngo. 2015-07-17Staff Report 2
