The New Visa Regime: AChihuahua Barks at Rottweilers

When Discussing the new visa regime, one has to ask: Who will benefit and who will suffer?

The narrative about visa policies is highly charged with emotions around dignity and discrimination.

The visa regulations of the named 33 countries are, however, not limited to African countries.

If a French tourist wants to visit the United States (US), he has to apply for a visa at an American consulate.

Discrimination is an intended feature of visa politics. In the US they would refer to ‘national security concerns’.

Moreover, the dignity argument is just to draw sympathy for the victims.

Does any Namibian feel humiliated when they must supply certified copies of documents upon contact with the authorities? Do they feel degraded when they must copy their identity cards when buying a bed at a furniture shop?

In Germany, for example, no police station certifies anything, because no office demands this.

But let’s leave the emotional decorum behind and turn to the reasons behind the new visa regime.

So, who benefits from it? Certainly not the 99% of ordinary Namibians who cannot travel to Europe or North America.

Not Namibian diplomats who have special passports either.

It is only the super-rich 1% of the population that indulges in a cosmopolitan lifestyle. They get red-hot envious when they hear that Germans, for example, can travel to 191 countries without a visa.

A tiny group of influential people are behind this new visa regime.

Let’s see who is on the suffering end of it – naturally the tourism industry.

If only a small percentage of tourists decide to travel elsewhere instead of to Namibia, thousands of workers in the industry will lose their jobs and maybe some businesses will go broke. So, the ordinary people will pay the price for the desired comfort of the super-rich.

Then tourists themselves: The requirements for some visas are simply ridiculous. I have never heard that anyone has to show six months’ bank statements anywhere!

The government argues they must know if visitors can pay their bills.

Any decent tourist from Europe plans a trip in advance, including financially. does the government know of scores of tourists who have not paid their bills? And how big was the presumed loss?

Those who are better off and pensioners with enough available money want to spent this in Namibia, but the government doesn’t trust them, implicating they want to rip off Namibian businesses.

I would not be surprised if this assumption of criminal intent scares off some tourists.
From this angle the “reciprocity” demand looks unwarranted.
I guess Namibia is shooting herself in the foot.

How many of the 33 sanctioned countries have changed their visa requirements for Namibians?
Jochen Becker