Public holidays slow economic growth Nghidipo Nangolo Thursday, May 15, 2014 - 08:30 Off the Desk This country was inspired by great men and women who coined the slogan ‘hard work’ and it has somehow becomes synonymous with the pride of defining the ‘Land of the Brave.’ With so many holidays in April and May the country could as well be called the ‘land of holidays’. These holidays do not only disrupt service delivery but make the economy of the country sluggish. Nations that are prosperous today are those that made their economies to operate continuously, even with a skeleton workforce during holidays. These holidays are not evenly spread throughout the year to stop the economy from going into a sleep-mode, especially in these particular two months. As said before, the working days and hours should be relative to the objectives of the country’s development plans. With so many holidays in two months, becoming a developed country by 2030 will be just another pipe dream. The economy needs to keep on going to rid the country of its developmental schisms characterised by poverty, inequity and developmental disparities. The country cannot reach its developmental goals if it is permanently on holiday and does not render public service, create an enabling environment for the private sector and service the growing number of tourists streaming to Namibia. Some might argue that the country is inundated with public holidays that can be described as an economic nuisance. In view of the high unemployment rate it could be ideal to try out double shifts where the workers will work the prescribed 45 hours a week, and others take over to increase public service demand in both the public and private sector. There are just too many public holidays in Namibia, and eight of those, out of 13 public holidays annually, are celebrated in a span of just two months, between the end of March to the end of May. Yes, we need to rest, as parents, single mothers and fathers, workers, and drivers, but then others must take over to increase productivity in whatever we do. When it’s Friday, there’s hardly any service at government offices and on Mondays, service resumes after lunch. Holidays have become an opportunity to indulge in risky social behaviours. When there is no attempt to make most of our public holidays inclusive, other people who don’t share the sentiments of what is being celebrated should be allowed to keep their businesses open to contribute to the economy of the country. Ideally the Labour Act should be amended to keep the economy in overdrive and provide for the creation of more jobs for the unemployed. Putting holidays to good use can at least strengthen Namibia’s nationalism and give new impetus to the slogan ‘One Namibia, One Nation’. At the moment, some of the public holidays are pure partisan events that are not designed to articulate unity in diversity. In fact, our government, like most of them in general, lack the insight to foster unity by using bad situations for the common good of all. Public holidays that are aimed to satisfy the parochial egos of some inhabitants and those that inculcate a culture of patronage at the expense of national unity in diversity, must be reviewed and at best be scrapped. Holidays need to be symbols that bind the ties of society. Forcing people to celebrate public holidays is not an option that will bode well for an open ‘information society’ that the government is trying to reach by 2030. As long as public holidays have no meaning to all inhabitants, the country’s unity will be in jeopardy and ultimately the economy of the country will be affected in future, one way or the other.
Posted on: Sat, 17 May 2014 08:00:00 +0000
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