Kae Matundu – Tjiparuro
“We are too few to be poor” is and has been one of the famous catchphrases of the president of the eighth administration of the Republic of Namibia.
Yours Truly Ideologically indeed, this catchphrase has been given serious reflection, wondering if it ever has or shall have any practical and consequential meaning or if it is just another popular rhetoric by a politician?
One, for that matter, without any hint of ideological conviction. For, indeed, unless backed by some serious ideological conviction and inclination, as much as ambition, such shall remain no more than just another swan’s song. Like many other swan songs by many a politician and aspirant for public office. Living and vanquished. Ruling and opposing.
Equality and social and economic justice, among a plethora of others, have been but the choruses in many a swan’s song of and by politicians. Without any consequence, thus reducing them to nothing but empty rhetoric. With the swan’s songs and choruses continuing endlessly and meaninglessly. “Amutse pushes for //Kharas local beneficiation,” echoes a line from a recent swan’s song by a minister.
“Governments do not want a situation of creating opportunities for investors whilst our locals are just playing the role of onlookers as un-/low-skilled labourers; they should start to take ownership of such opportunities,” goes a line from the song baritoned most recently by one of the honourables. Singing to public galleries in the //Kharas, as has become the trademark of many honourables at many a public gallery all over the country.
Sooner any honourable person has descended the gallery before another presents itself sooner or later, the echoes of the swan’s song are forgotten. Simply because their lyrics are not cast in ideology at best, or in political conviction at the least, but rather in political wishful thinking and/or rhetoric.
Yours Truly Ideologically cannot but be reminded of an interesting headline around the same time in one of the local English dailies. About the Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Council getting 100K a month. Perhaps beneficiation at its highest level. But certainly this cannot be speaking to “we are too few to be poor”, can it?
Nor does it speak and augur well for an administration on a mission of beneficiation instead of a mission of self-enrichment. Instead, such reveals the contradictions within the administration, if not a total lack of strong political will and ideological conviction. With one hand proffering and bidding to be caring for the poor and aspiring towards their beneficiation, while the other is literally taking away from the very poor to give to the proverbial Caesar what may be believed to belong to him or her.
But what is the reality and/or flipside of beneficiation? Investors! But it has never been in the DNA of investors to benefit the locals. Ask fellow African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries associated with the European Union. Whose belief and expectation in associating themselves with this elite economic and political blog was and has been presumably the industrialisation of the formerly colonised countries. Not so much out of constructive and progressive, if not radical, benevolence but to placate the continuous plundering of the natural resources of these countries.
Because following the nominal dismantling of colonialism, the former colonising powers/nations feared the possible end to free and unhindered access to the natural resources from and of the former colonised to the exclusive benefit of the previously colonising countries. In this regard a way had to be devised to continue to syphon off the natural resources. In a more subtle way than the flagrant and blatant plunder of the colonial era.
The continuing plunder is now couched in a different political-economic neo-colonial jargon, named partnership. A partnership that has never been, is not continuous and shall never be. Other than a simple camouflage for the continued plunder of the natural resources of the former colonies under the pretence and pretext of mutual economic cooperation.
Close to seven or eight decades now, and the so-called economic cooperation has been and continues to be only blatantly beneficial to and propping up the economies of the former coloniser countries. On the contrary, the said, promised and pretended development of the economies of the former colonies has remained a mere pipedream, if not a total illusion. With stark economic stagnation, if not retrogression.
A bold statement that it was never meant to be. Never ever truly intended by the former colonising countries and nations for the previously colonised and economically underdeveloped ones. Yet to this day, after decades and decades of the obvious neglect and underdevelopment of their economies, the development lie has been and is continuing to this day.
While the core business of the European countries and/or nations within this conglomeration has remained business as usual, the syphoning off of raw natural resources, critical minerals in today’s parlance, from the ACP countries. With the peoples of the latter countries and nations continuing to be condemned and exposed to impoverishment. Like our typical //Kharas region and many other regions in the Land of the Brave. Against the backdrops of the beneficiation swan’s songs.
Ever since the so-called end of colonialism, there has been so much talk about equal partnership between the former colonies and their previous colonial masters. A partnership sugar-coated with agreements, the latest being the Samoa Agreement. Ostensibly focusing on sustainable development, to mention but one of the many deceitful and deceptive terms used to continue the umbilical cord between the EU and ACP. Very much in the interest of the EU rather than the ACP.
If the ACP countries, after decades of continued deceptive plunder of their countries’ natural resources, still continue to believe that Europe has ever been honourable with them, they need not look further than the recent show of true colours by the United States of America (USA).
That is and has lately, if not ever, been showing what making America great again means, what American interests mean and the extent to which it can go to enforce her interests as well as protect them. Much the same with any former colonising power, or any other power for that matter, whether a former coloniser or not.
The dictum being that their interests cannot and shall never be second to any. Crudely, there can be no equality or parallelism of interests. Thus, the beneficiation that Namibian politicians often would like the country to believe is and cannot be as they would like to make the country believe.
It cannot and shall never be handed to Namibia on a silver platter. But it requires a stronger political will than the usual public rhetoric and posturing. But above all, it also requires a true ideological belief, disposition and clarity. The usual public political rhetoric needs serious recalibration by true ideological recalibration.
