‘Don’t Be Embarrassed to Be Called Tenderpreneurs’, says former minister Peter Vilho at Swapo rally

Former defence minister Peter Vilho says young black people should not be embarrassed to be called tenderpreneurs.

A tenderpreneur is a businessperson who uses political contacts to secure government procurement deals.

Speaking at a Swapo campaign in Windhoek on Saturday, Vilho said: “Create your own professional bodies if need be, establish businesses to give employment to your people and establish your own media houses. We shouldn’t be embarrassed to be called tenderpreneurs, if that is the only avenue open to us.”

According to Vilho, the path to economic prosperity is full of hurdles.

“That’s why it’s called a struggle. What you must do is organise yourselves. I have seen that there are bodies such as the Black Business Leadership Network of Namibia and the Namibia Local Businesses Association. Do not discount their importance,” Vilho emphasised.

He said as much as vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah talks about youth empowerment, nothing is going to fall into young people’s laps.

Vilho said despite Nandi-Ndaitwah’s promises to create an enabling business environment, young people must take charge.

“She is promising to give you legal protection and access to capital. But to succeed, you must organise yourselves and take charge of your country’s economy.”

He cited an example of a woman in the Kunene region, who is being prevented from developing her mining concession through a court order brought by conservancies in the Khorixas area.

They reportedly argue that her mining activities will disturb the rhino population and interfere with tour operations.

“Some of you might have dismissed this as a strictly environmental matter.

It isn’t. This is a classic example of economic warfare that is being waged against our people in the name of environmental sustainability.”

He argued that many aspiring young black business people are subject to bullying on a daily basis in courts, boardrooms and workplaces.

He mentioned examples including the culling of seals and elephants, as well as phosphate mining and ReconAfrica’s exploration in the Kavango Basin.

“It’s like we are the only country in the world that has an environment,” he said.

Political analyst Rui Tyitende says Vilho’s comments imply that Swapo has no plans to create a sustainable economy that is not reliant on tenders, and that young people will be economic scavengers forever, because that is what the tender process is.

“It discourages innovation and creates a culture of dependency and breeds corruption. Is that what the former minister is encouraging?”

Meanwhile, political analyst Henning Melber says Vilho’s comments are off the mark.

“This is an insult to all those in the economy seeking to establish businesses without any connections to the elite in power and its network.”

Melber says Vilho is suggesting that one needs to have client relations with those who award tenders.

He further says Vilho’s comments reinforce the perception that governance under Swapo is based on favouritism and linkages to obtain access to public projects.

“If Swapo wants to attack and convince voters who have turned their back on the party, then they need other arguments than those of Vilho, which are off the mark and portray a party which equates governance with a self-serving and self-enrichment strategy,” he adds.