By Chris Jacobie
NAMIBIA does not need an instruction list from populists hibernating as democrats to the President, Dr. Hage Geingob, on what should be addressed in his State of the Nation Address tomorrow to Parliament, especially not if the compilers of the list are notoriously failed and rejected factional interests that abuse parliament, regional government and town councils as a food-for-work programme.
The time has come for the Namibian Nation to demonstrate their state to the Head of State. It is time for citizens to support and pick up the flag where it was dropped by those in authority, by not accepting favours, gifts, and preferential treatment, but by reporting it.
Economic vultures and political character assassins for economic gain will remain in every corner. The struggle to protect their loot from money laundering, fraud and theft are now as hard as it is to further loot a depleted treasury.
Under these circumstances, Namibians will forgive Dr. Geingob if he not only loses his temper but if he demonstrates the frustration that Namibians feel by discovering how they were and still are betrayed by those from whom they expected it the least.
Namibians tomorrow need the Leader of the Nation to appreciate his supporters at the trees where the majority are good and not evil. Namibians are more valuable and loyal than the fingers on cell phone keyboards and who live in a fake world and want to rule democrats as dictators who even now show a remarkable intolerance for future leaders in a constitutional democracy, because they found a way to tolerate criminals under the guise of whistle-blowers and collude with the enemy within the gates for self-interest only.
An angry and decisive President will weep with a frustrated nation who falls victim to criminals of privilege and who use Dr. Geingob as their camouflage to hide and protect their wealth because it is clear that the perceived riches of the state coffers are not there to plunder anymore.
Namibians don’t need more politics and commitments to root out corruption.
Namibians need to be inspired and motivated to stay the course and pick themselves up from the quicksand of bad administration created by civil servants and municipal managers and move as one.
The time is now because the foundation of corruption is showing cracks but the citizens will prevail to wrestle this affliction from the grip of party politics and populism.
In most other relatively small societies the heads of the corruption dragon would have been severed easily, but the corrupt and the greedy nowadays have easier and sophisticated systems to protect their illegal proceeds, or so they think.
For too long now, corruption is politicized and used for lining up Namibians in factional and tribal lines for the same battle against injustice and inequality against each other.
The State of the Namibian Nation is not an opportunity for opportunists. It is a call that only true leaders can hear because they can reflect and inspire a Namibian struggle and fight back on all levels like never before.
Great acts of courage always came from great moments of anger, fear, and frustration.
No leader escapes that, and Namibians are fortunate that they have a President who relishes that opportunity.
