Namibian-Germans find their voice

GERMAN-speaking Namibians want to set up a new organisation which will give them a voice and represent their interests in Namibian society.

The Namibian-German Foundation’s (NaDs) spokesperson, Benita Herma, said this on Monday during an interview on how Namibians of German heritage do not have a voice or a body that can speak on their behalf in the country.

The foundation held a meeting during the first week of this month in Windhoek, where they discussed setting up an organisation which will represent the interests of Namibian Germans.

“About two years ago, we were approached by various organisations about these German-speaking Namibians needing a voice.

We started very carefully, testing the waters and writing in the local German newspaper to see how welcome the idea was,” she explained.

Herma said they held a preparatory meeting, and it was clear that there was a need for that. They have since approached a lawyer to assist in the process of starting a new organisation.

She said the first meeting on what the goals of the organisation would be and how it should be structured as well as what the constitution should consist of was held on 9 August, with many people showing enthusiasm.

As a result, a steering committee was set up to lead the process.

“There will be no tribalism. We will make sure in our constitution that one day when we are gone, it will not develop into a political party,” said Herma.

There will also be a meeting in October, where a voting process for a committee will take place, and to affirm the goals that the current steering committee is working on.

“It is important to have a voice, even for other outside organisations, to Namibian organisations, and to communicate amongst ourselves better. You will not believe it, but we are little islands amongst ourselves,” stressed Herma.

The spokesperson said the new entity will also look at economic issues, stating that many Namibian Germans run small to medium-sized enterprises which have suffered from the economic downturn over the past three years.

“The majority have small to medium-sized enterprises, and it’s those who feel that they do not really have a voice or the capacity to give inputs,” Herma continued.

She stressed that everyone will be welcome to be part of the new entity, and there would be no discrimination, even at the meeting in October.

The chairman of the foundation, Andreas Herrle, said the new organisation would be independent of the NaDs, and not concerned with party politics.

Furthermore, Herrle emphasised that they wanted to put the country’s interest before the group’s interest, and that they would like to approach the government for vocational training to be done as it is being done in Germany so as to empower young people to get jobs.

The Namibia German Foundation was created prior to independence out of the need to assist or contribute to Namibia’s liberation struggle.

Its role changed after independence, and included running the Goethe Institute, before it became an administrative and lobbying body.