The poison that kills grassroots Chris Jacobie Thursday, April 3, 2014 - 08:00 WHEN national leaders of the calibre of the Head of State, the Prime Minister and various members of cabinet, attempt addressing outstanding challenges, citizens should rather rise to the challenge for Namibia than smother initiatives in negativity. It is pointless to ask why someone do this, and why now. The cynics should say what they really want to say: that they suspect electioneering. The answer to this is also very simple, if Namibians benefit from elections, so be it. Yes, the Head of State, President Hifikepunye Pohamba, recently did not hide his displeasure at certain challenges that keep popping up, and in a rare display of losing control he showed his irritation in public. In fact, he showed that he can bite and not only bark. Of course, to the irritation of the majority of Namibians, the action against bad administration and corruption is too slow. In a not unexpected turn of events, the question of small and big fish to distinguish between effective combating of corruption has muddied the waters, and this is unfortunate and regrettable because bickering will delay progress and it does not matter if a big or small fish is in the pool of corruption. The pool must be cleaned. But, Namibians must also admit that there are genuine efforts to improve service delivery, especially to the poor and marginalised, from the highest offices in the land, including the Presidency and the Office of the Prime Minister. Some actions do not get enough publicity, but it is known that President Pohamba intervened personally on a few occasions to get the ball rolling. The intervention of Dr Geingob to lessen the burden of an evicted destitute family is an example of a kindness that changed the life of a whole family for the better forever. After what they suffered they are most deserving. There are still many challenges, and in many cases, if not in all cases, the well-intentioned programmes of the political decision-makers are failing, not because of officials or poor design, but due to incompetent managers who are ‘wannabe’ politicians themselves, and by their attitude basically usurp the power of the minister without the risk of being rejected at a poll. Some permanent secretaries boast that they do not report to their ministers, and think they are not obliged to but are effectively in charge. In most cases, management fails the political leadership, and the sad fact is that the chosen leadership takes the bullet for the appointed leadership, and rightly so. Unfortunately, grassroots die from the roots up. There is hardly a town council that is not infected by the disease of a credibility crisis, and unfortunately, but not surprisingly, it creates a nation of cynics not conducive to mutual co-operation. There are no guarantees that some plans and programmes are going to work, although all measures were taken by the decision-makers. Sometimes even the best plans and programmes need resilience and support to conquer obstacles towards sustainable implementation. Brain power is useless without people power. Shifting the blame on town and village councils, or covering grievous mismanagement is ignoring the root of political dissent created by politics of favouritism and expedience. In hindsight it is clear that in cases where candidate lists were driven by forces of self-interest, the result is destructive self-interest and failed towns and villages. The politics of own interest is now best served by casting doubt and suspicion on others. This tactic worked so well that it can be classified in Namibia as a law of nature like the law of gravity or the composition of light. Namibians must remind themselves of the remark by the Prime Minister, Dr Hage Geingob when on the day before the Independence Day celebrations, he reminded Namibians in an NBC interview in passing to stop bickering. The unusual public intervention, even outburst, by President Pohamba contrary to his usual mild-mannered conduct that Namibians came to know and respect, and the simultaneous reminder by Dr Geingob to stop small-mindedness and bickering basically boils down to the same thing. They recognise the effect of negativity on the hopes of so many. Leaders are losing their patience with the few who try to spoil so much for so many. Normal hardworking Namibians who are patiently waiting for opportunities to improve their lives are also tired of hearing the same complaints from the same corners about the same issues. It is a serious charge against the few privileged that sit in their armchairs in air-conditioned offices to criticise a ploughing programme for a rural subsistence farmer -- who broke a hard and thankless soil -- as a political ploy, and not realising that they should assist rather than resist. Namibians by now are well aware of the impending elections and the fact that politics will take centre stage the next few weeks and months. Namibians also know that the day after elections will be a day bringing its own challenges and its own expectations. Obstacles will not disappear. That is a fact of life, and political leaders who believe or hope otherwise are living in a make-believe reality. The changes in government that Namibia will experience after the Pohamba term, is a constitutional demand and not because of pressure from a population who demand change, and will go to the end of the world to achieve it at any price, as is the case in failed democracies the world over. Namibians, unlike most other societies beleaguered by strife and dissent, are not having elections to save a nation, but because the term of the president and the parliament is coming to an end, and it is, therefore, demanded by the constitution. Namibians should take pride in the reality that they are going to the polls as voters according to the demands of the constitution, and not as a last resort to solve strife and rebellion. Those that cynically condemn everything as politics are more political than politicians. The only diffrence is that they never run the risk of rejection and the humiliation that they so easily dish out. Elections are a great privilege, but are an even greater Namibian achievement that truly sets this nation apart from any other.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 11:45:13 +0000
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