Finding out that Namibia is the second-most unequal country in the world is mind boggling.
Indeed, it is also interesting to know that of the top 10 countries leading the ‘unequal list’, seven are African.
One problem we have with our leaders is that they don’t know who to serve. Instead of serving the people, our leaders serve the institutions they are employed in, and turn a blind eye to the people.
This is the genesis of inequality.
The engine of inequality in Africa (or Namibia if you will) is running full throttle.
Thanks to the Fishrot scandal, many people’s eyes and minds are now open.
Recently, there has been much speculation about multibillion-dollar projects, such as oil and green hydrogen discovered in Namibia.
Such projects would only benefit a minority.
Learning from history is important. Way back, we were sold a major pipe dream – Vision 2030.
This is rarely spoken about any more due to its failure to become a reality.
Black economic empowerment, the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN), and the Central Procurement Board of Namibia, among others, were all created to benefit all the people of Namibia.
Yet all these organisations are incapable of achieving their stated objectives, because some individuals leading them are corrupt, greedy and have no integrity.
In the meantime, the same leaders governing these institutions ineffectively are preaching sound ideas, driven by greed and corruption, aimed at developing and bringing change.
But the thing is, ideas are worthless without action.
No matter how sweet and intelligent our leaders may ever sound, statistics or numbers don’t lie: We have a high unemployment rate, hundreds of thousands of people face acute food shortages, crime is rife, and the gap between the rich and the poor keeps expanding.
The record of horrible suffering caused by government leaders is endless.
Why are all these problems prevalent while we have an abundance of resources to remedy the situation?
What guarantee is there that oil and green hydrogen would make a difference all of a sudden?
Over the past three decades we have had enough resources at our disposal which could have brought change.
Yet hundreds of thousands of people live below the poverty line.
On the other hand, they vastly succeeded in enriching the few.
The question is, who would have trust in the two massive projects worth billions? The same leaders who ruined this country?
Do our leaders ever take a second and see what type of example they are portraying? Do our leaders ponder the type of Namibia their children’s children would live in?
How do they feel about being addressed as ‘honourable’ while over half of the population live in poverty?
How did we get here? Enough is enough.
Our leaders should remember that hungry people are the greatest threat to a government.
History has proven that all revolutions are caused by the unequal distribution of resources.
And Namibia is no exception.
It is time for government leaders to lead with integrity.
Daniel Sampayo
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