Filling The Void Left By Trump

For Namibians who were gleefully championing Donald Trump in the misguided belief that the United States (US) president was great for their narrow causes, we hope it’s now clear that he’s nothing but a racist and obnoxious character.

At a stroke of a pen, the bigoted leader of the world’s most powerful country has taken decisions that immediately damage support for many of the most needy Namibians, especially people affected by HIV-AIDS.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of employees and volunteers at organisations supporting orphans and other vulnerable people in hard to reach parts of Namibia were abruptly sent home when Trump suspended the work of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

To appeal to misguided homophobes and pro-Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump and his racist cohort, led by businessman Elon Musk, claimed they were targeting ‘woke’ ideologies.

These are, in essence, the diversity, equity and inclusion policies of pro-civil liberty advocates. Trump has also taken it on himself to place excessive emphasis on minority issues related to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex and other community.

In Namibia, Trump’s decisions will affect tens of thousands of people affected by HIV, including child-headed households, soup kitchens and those suffering from tuberculosis.

Trump has wasted no time in proving (yet again) that his ambition is to advance mercantilism and that his only interests are unbridled profiteering from others’ misery as he advances even the craziest of plans – that of turning Gaza into a resort for the rich.

Thus, key lessons to draw from this early in Trump’s second term is for developing states like Namibia to not rely on hand-outs.

The Namibian government should immediately aim to fill the void left by Trump and support such projects that were helping the vulnerable and advancing the common good. The private sector should also come onboard.

If the ruling party truly believes in solidarity, it should start scaling down on policies that only serve to enrich a few. The government should also spend less on nice-to-have office buildings, massive roads with complex bridges and over/underpasses at the expense of public transport and other social amenities.

Future budgets must rather support small enterprises instead of the country’s wasteful parastatals.

We cannot afford to continue falling asleep at the wheel only to wake up when the worst of leaders, like Trump, force our hand.

Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo’s book ‘Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is a Better Way for Africa’ is a great place to start if we want to fix our country’s rotten leadership.