All Odds Against All Namibian Parties

Namibia has a very high unemployment rate, which is among the highest in the world.

This is accompanied by a high crime rate and all sorts of other social ills.

A sovereign country relatively big in size with a very small population and abundant resources, by now more than three decades after self-rule, ought to have done better.

By now the political administrative system, which is so adequately enabled by the existing peace, democracy, the rule of law and justice, should be telling a better story.

A story in which three million Namibians would have been happily celebrating, expressing their gratitude for decent and affordable housing, for basic services such as water, electricity, road infrastructure, healthcare, energy and telecommunications.

But instead the electorate returned to the ballot box, having to pledge their support for politicians who, for more than 30 years, have been forgetting that providing basic human needs such as water, sanitation, roads, electricity etc., is not a favour they are doing the taxpaying voting citizens of this republic.

Political administrators must be reminded that all odds will be against whoever will be in charge of running the country.

There are serious pending issues which are lacking meaningful political will – issues such as the full implementation of the resolutions taken during the second national land conference.

Issues dealing with meaningfully fighting corruption, especially institutionalised corruption, in both the public and private sectors.

The populace in particular the majority of young people who are the hardest hit by unemployment, will be demanding better results from the country’s administrators.

I would for instance campaign for annual revised political party manifestos, especially of those parties that will be in the mix of administering our bread-and-butter issues at local, regional and national level.

Vision 2030 has perhaps been a far-fetched dream, probably because it was initiated by a back-then dominant one-party political system.

However, this vision can perhaps still assist us to better comprehend what it takes to deliver better services to Namibia’s fewer than three million citizens.

Alvenus Dreyer