‘Dingara’s proposition delusional’

. . . Swapo backbencher says diamonds could make Namibians instant millionaires

Swapo backbencher Eliphas Dingara has been labelled delusional for his suggestion that every Namibian should be given N$1 million, since the country’s natural resources justify this.

Dingara told Desert Radio yesterday since he cannot be president he would bring this motion back to the parliament.

Swapo chief whip Hambyuka Hamunyera, however, says Dingara does not have permission to do so.

“He was not given a greenlight by the party. That information is not correct,” he said yesterday.

Political analyst Rui Tyitende calls Dingara’s idea ludicrous and potential economic suicide.

“Dingara should be applauded for having the desire to solve the deteriorating socio-economic situation of the most vulnerable in society. However, his policy proposition is delusional,” he says.

Dingara yesterday said he has researched the motion and spoke to the party on bringing it back, which Hamunyera denied.

“Swapo is disappointed that I have withdrawn the motion. They wanted to see the motion on the floor so that they could approve it,” Dingara said.

He was confident that should he be given a chance to rule the country, this idea would become reality.

“Then give Dingara the country. I will change everything, and I mean it. I will make sure everyone will get N$1 million. Even if we decide not to work, and just use our minds, only foreigners will work for us. Everybody will be well off,” Dingara said.

‘DOABLE’

Dingara said his plans are legit, practical and doable.

“I have developed a formula and I have decided to select which resource of the country can make this possible, which is diamonds.

“There is a huge quantity, with over N$26 trillion worth of diamonds that have been discovered,” he said.

Dingara said if only N$3 trillion worth of diamonds are mined, each qualifying Namibian would be taken care of.

“As soon as a person turns 25, they would qualify. This is real, I have done research and I will table it. Every member of parliament now is waiting for that motion. And it will work. Every Namibian will get that N$1 million,” he said.

‘SERIOUS INFLATION’

“Namibians do not need handouts as we have all the resources to radically transform the material conditions of the majority. The problem is that we have a governing party that is caught up in an ideology of non-ideology,” Dingara said.

Tyitende says even if Dingara’s plans were feasible, the intended beneficial funds would be misappropriated by those in charge of distribution.

“Instead of aiming to provide each and every Namibian with a million dollars, Dingara should have pressed his comrades as to why not a single hospital the size of Katutura State Sospital has been built since independence, and why the government has been consistently underspending on agricultural development and overspending on drought relief,” he says.

Economist Omu Kakujaha-Matundu says Dingara’s idea might not be practical.

“Everyone would love to have that N$1 million.

Dingara should also think about the period he has in mind. Even if we had that money and you throw it in the economy, it could cause serious inflation,” he says.

Kakujaha-Matundu says how the intended beneficiaries would spend the money would have an impact on the economy, adding it is important to look at who buys into the resources Dingara alleges Namibia controls.

“As our late president has once said about our oil: It is not ours,” Kakujaha-Matundu says.

While Dingara said he would do all of this if he were president, he is “too small to run for thePresidency”.

“It is not me who must decide which position I must run for. You must be judged by people and not yourself,” he said, adding that if he were the president, it would take him two years to implement his plan.