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Mandela writes
Mandela writes
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Youth expect no more than we deserve...
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Young Namibians today, cannot deject that the anti colonial struggle for liberation and against apartheid, remains a cogent political and sociological lesson for our times. It might seem that there are some of us who are obsessed with liberation rhetoric, but this is not the case, on the contrary, apart from the historic worth of liberationism, liberationism teaches us real and cogent lessons for our times, such as loyalty, patriotism, determination, hard work and unwavering resolve. It is these values and notions that we invoke today as we set the pace for a new development discourse.

Given the above, the demand and the struggle for opportunities within the nascent economy remains our rallying call. It is from the struggle against anti colonial resistance from which we must draw our inspiration and resolve. The broad based empowerment of the masses of our people, the rural masses in particular, is preeminent in our minds eye as we seek to trudge towards vision 2030 and as we gather for this event. To underestimate the importance of this objective is to undermine the masses who where and are the bedrock of both our previous and present struggles.

The empowerment of young people is within the above ambits and surely it cannot be anything but a just ask, to receive support while we learn, toil and strive for our country. Those institution and persons who steer us towards vision 2030 consider, and apply their minds to creating worthwhile opportunities for young people today and in the future.

Nevertheless while the above remains a paramount objective we must continue to strive, toil and learn, we must strive for what is just fair and in our national interest, we must toil to grow food, build infrastructure and extract the resources which God has abounded this nation with and finally we must learn to perfect means of governance harmony and without seizing perfect the use of technology for our own advancement.

It is only the generations that owns and strives towards its aspirations that can ultimately achieve them

November 10, 2008 | 5:55 AM Comments  0 comments

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Defending our values is a categorical imperative.....
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Nangola Mbumba said a most profound thing at the recent SWAPO party rally, when he said amongst other, that there is no one entity that has a monopoly for being smart. I was reminded of this rather telling assertion this morning (Monday, the 15th of September, 2008) while listening to Hon Nora Chase MP (COD) on the Good Morning (Namibia) show.

The assertion that was made by her, implied to me that she viewed that SWAPO had failed at several levels and its failures in respect to the implementation of the constitution and consolidation of democracy where with intent.

This is no complicated matter to take issue with, thus I will do so briefly without much ado and jargon jostling. It is obvious that this statement is set against the backdrop of opposition hyperbole and was made without references to an objective measurement of the relevant tools for analyzing this; consider that Africa is abound with various measures in that respect. Consider also that the most fundamental basis always in our reference to ourselves and our relationship with the state, should be a reverence to firstly the constitution and then secondly other law, most things other than those that are codified in our law are arbitrary considerations.

She dully recognizes that the Namibian constitution is a fair and good instrument and that it enshrines the rights of the citizens of this country. However the assertion that the relevant provision in respect to the same are deliberately not adhered to is fallacious and devoid of logic and falls firmly in the ambit of polemic hyperbole. As Bona fide “defenders” of law, justice and democracy, Why then not defend the law in the courts. And seek the necessary legal recourse?

It is not my manner to consistently make reference to
the past in the analyze of nascent challenges, but in many cases we have to realize that there is a sound logical basis for such arguments on the odd occasion and this issue is one case in point. Democratic ideals both for leaders and the ordinary citizens take years and generations to entrench. So it is not odd in the Namibian instance that we have skirmishes. It is purely hogwash to say that SWAPO has not entrenched democracy in Namibia. In the first place while it is granted that SWAPO as the party in government has a major role to play in this endeavor, it is utterly nonsensical to say then that the failure of democracy is the fault of SWAPO.

Recently in the USA during the Texas “Two Step” as well as in the Philadelphia Democratic Primary, there was much uproar on the process its fairness and incidences of voter intimidation arose, even cases of cheating and actual fighting where recorded. Recently in Arkansas, the Democratic Party’s State Vice Chairman was shot and killed outside the parties’ state headquarters, in an attack that was largely seen to be politically motivated. Consider this against the background that even in a nation that is one of the world’s oldest liberal democracies, we do on the occasion react in an inappropriate manner.

My argument here is not that violence and intimidation is right but that it does occur in the process of a heated political race. The second predicate of my antithesis is that Namibia has an entrenched culture of antagonized politics with roots in the cold war era liberation struggle of the country.

In my modest view, we very often misinterpret the relative absence of our personal political values in the political system as unjust, this is wrong, selfish and at often times elitist. Democracy by its very nature presupposes that there are others in the polity that will have different views than that of our own.

Our democracy is young, fragile and in need of further consolidation, our nation is only now consolidating a new political culture and the odd occasional fracas must be condemned but let us please see such occurrences through the right lenses.

SWAPO should and will do its part to defend the gains of our liberation but so should others, the stakes have bearing on us all.

September 19, 2008 | 7:58 AM Comments  0 comments

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Avant Garde or Liberal diatribe?
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In the early pages of love in the Time of Cholera the masterful Gabriel Garcia Marques uses lucid and brilliant prose to carry a lesson, which I think we would do ourselves well to consider.

When narrating some of Loratio Thugut’s peculiar sexual habits as a novelty of the avant garde to the sexually and emotionally naive protagonist, Florentine Ariza. Marques says specifically …and so Loratio Thugut could never persuade him that watching and letting himself be watched were the refinements of European princes…just as Floretine Ariza could not be bent to forego his values beliefs and principles to the more seductive excceses of his German fiend in the novel. We as young people of the African continent and of Namibia in particular, should avert being seduced by the easy and romantic notions of liberalism and its nascent excesses

The world is not what it seems, the beautiful is often ugly and the ugly is often prettier than its surface reveals, it would seem that truth is no longer determined by the free conscious but by thugery, collusion and the imagery that is invented subjectively and without the consideration of the values of Africans in particular, it shocks me how easily people are willing to forego their independence and liberty for temporary expedience. There are those amongst us, whom have become too comfortable in this pretension of an existence. The current global economic turmoil reveals only that our economies have misplaced priorities and that ultimately it is the poor, the young, old, woman and the rural masses of black Africa that will bear the brunt of this crisis.

We watch with flushed eagerness the resolutions of the summits of the G8, anticipating with salivating reverence that perhaps Bernake, Bush, Straus Kahn, Sarkozy or Fukuda will offer solution to our burden, how futile and foolish this is. Nujoma has taught us and continues to preach food security as a paramount precondition to our cause, we must be able to feed ourselves before all else. Then invest in the education and technological advancement of our people, this is imperative. Failing this, our states will have no choices to make for themselves and we will have no freedom other than the freedom to salivate for more of the same.