Mubita’s Anecdote
The visit to Tsumkwe by President Geingob, in line with the much-stated crusade to eradicate poverty and to ensure that no single Namibian is left behind, has received accolades across the country. A noble deed always deserves commendation, and so far the Presidency is making very encouraging pronouncements regarding the fight against poverty, and attempts to include marginalised Namibians in programmes that would uplift their wellbeing. In any case, it is inconceivable that after 25 years of independence we still have marginalised groups in the country.
The message coming out of the President’s visit to Tsumkwe is that the government will try to take social services and development to the marginalised people of Tsumkwe. In a nutshell, Tsumkwe deserves to be developed to the level of many other areas that have been over-developed during the last 25 years. One wonders how some very remote areas were developed at lightning speed while others have remained literally where they were before independence, apart from a few nominal “developments”, which include schools where pupils are taught while standing.
While the Presidency deserves commendation for its pronouncements on poverty and inclusivity, it should be noted that one bad deed may spoil the good will that the President is carefully trying to build and may soil the image of the government. The good intentions and pronouncements of the President risk becoming mere public relations charades if other government leaders do not step in to translate and implement them for the good of the nation. The fact is that it takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it. The Japanese say, “A fart ruins 100 days of sermons by the priest”. Literally, this means that a small mistake depreciates the value of all labour and effort to naught. Conventional African wisdom teaches us that until lions write their own history, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunters. In other words, it is time the marginalised are celebrated and live decent lives.
It is very disturbing, disappointing and totally repugnant that in this day and age senior political office bearers resort to using Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd’s philosophy to place Namibians into ethnic compartments previously known as Bantustans. As the architect of apartheid, Verwoerd once described apartheid as a “policy of good neighbourliness” and spearheaded the balkanisation of South Africa and Namibia into 20 Bantustans and so-called self-governing homelands (10 in Namibia and 10 in South Africa), through such policies as the Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act (1959); the Bantu Investment Corporation Act (1959); and many more others. Four of the 10 homelands established in Namibia were granted so-called self-government. These apartheid structures were abolished in May 1989 at the start of the transition to independence, or at least so we believe.
This is exactly what the deputy minister for marginalised people was wittingly or unwittingly advocating when he addressed a group of San-speaking Namibians at Katima Mulilo’s Macaravan informal settlement, urging them to relocate and join fellow tribesmen at Wayawaya settlement in the Sibbinda Constituency if they wished to be uplifted and integrated into the economic mainstream of the country “as part of government’s agenda”. “Macaravan informal settlement is not home. The area is surrounded by shebeens. If you relocate to Wayawaya, government is able to assist you by setting up community garden projects, kindergartens, livestock farming and agricultural implements to cultivate and harvest crops”, he is quoted as saying.
With due respect to the honourable deputy minister, what employment are you talking about at Wayawaya? Have you been to Wayawaya? The San people you were addressing are in Katima Mulilo to seek employment not for fun. In any case, what has government done for the hundreds of impoverished Namibians who reside at Wayawaya? Is it being suggested that all Namibians in Windhoek and other towns should go back to their “homelands” if they want government to assist them?
It is common knowledge that Macaravan area was promised to be sold to a businessman in cahoots with authorities in Katima Mulilo. This is the main reason why the San-speaking people are being cajoled into relocating from Macaravan to the bushes of Wayawaya. Government should have consulted people on the ground.
The utterances of the deputy minister are distasteful and insulting, and when juxtaposed to the message delivered by the President at Tsumkwe, one would be forgiven for believing that Namibia has two governments – one that wishes to take development to the people and other that is hell-bent on shepherding employment seeking Namibians into ghettos where the word development has never been mentioned in the last 25 years.
Attempts to “develop” the San-speaking Namibians in isolation, literally quarantined from other Namibians, is a recipe for national disaster and detrimental to national cohesion and nationhood. One hopes that this ministry was not created to push the San-speaking Namibians further into oblivion of bush life because that would give credence to the repugnant policy of apartheid.
For 25 years government has been spearheading a policy of nationhood and nation building. It should be understood that a nation is not defined by its borders or the boundaries of its land mass. Rather, a nation is defined by adverse people who have been unified by a cause and a value system and who are committed to a vision for the type of society they wish to live in and give to the future generations to come. This is what we should be striving to do. What we need now is a nation of great people who live to positively impact others and build enduring legacies for future generations anywhere in Namibia.
*Dr Charles Mubita holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Southern California.