Why do namibians like eating?

 

Why do Namibians like eating? Maybe because it rhymes with cheating. Namibians have an insatiable appetite for sex. Oto patana? Show me a Namibian man who is married or in a relationship that doesn’t have at least one side chick, show me that and I’ll tell you who killed Tupac Shakur. Clearly, we have a taste for forbidden fruit, so it’s no surprise that we like corruption. Wait, did you really think this article was about eating? Shame! Namibians are the champions of selective morality, something is only wrong if they are not benefiting from it, and this is the general attitude towards corruption. As long as I am eating then it’s not corruption.

Long queues are generally a sign that something is not working correctly, they are indicative of poor service delivery and inefficient systems, in Namibia a queue is the perfect place to observe the proclivity for corruption. Queue cutting is the most enjoyable form of low level corruption to watch. Most people use their friends to cut a queue, they walk up to their friend and start a conversation that continues until their friend is at the front of the queue and they slot in right behind them. The real ninjas are the ones that cut in front of you and say “I was here before.” You have to respect such brazen risk taking. Generally, many of us tolerate this low level corruption because it doesn’t appear to cost us that much and also because it allows us feel less guilty about doing it ourselves, everyone does it right?

Bureaucracy is the enemy of progress, red tape and administrative delays are the reason most people resort to bribes and favors to get things done. This is where Medium level corruption takes place. If I’ve applied for a passport and I’ve been waiting three months, I really don’t care about paying Johnny from Home Affairs a “consultation” fee so I get my passport. As the beneficiary I am not concerned about the system, I just want a passport. I am not concerned about how this empowers Johnny to abuse the system for personal gain and whether or not the justice system will hold him accountable if he is ever caught. I don’t care about that; I just want a passport. In truth most government systems foster a conducive environment for corruption because they are inefficient, for something to get done you must know someone within the system, and of course you must “compensate” this person because you know you’ll need them again someday. This is how corruption becomes systemic. We enable the corrupt, and the corrupt keep the wheel turning if we pay them to turn it.

We hate corruption but we also low key like it, as long as we are benefiting, we are only outraged when it inconveniences us. This underlines our abusive relationship with our government and its systems. As a Namibian citizen, corruption should enrage you, no matter what level it is. Express your outrage at the ballot box, expresses it by protesting for changes in regulation, express it by refusing to pay bribes, express it by reporting corruption, that’s the only way anything will change.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10.5 in a straight line – The Namib Naukluft Mountains.

Image
A mountain is nature's way of saying take the long way round (Scenic route) May 2012 (The following actually happened, I kid you not) My head was stuck so deep in the map that I was closely analyzing that I hardly noticed when the car stopped, I kept staring at it as though a road to our destination would magically appear. “Why have we stopped, we’re not even a quarter of the way there?” I asked myself. No roads existed to where we wanted to go, just a frighteningly deep valley beyond the rocky hill where we stopped. As I got out of the car all I could see was grass, huge hills and the shadow of three big mountains on the horizon. I glanced at the GPS as I was lacing up my boots while Patrisia grabbed our back packs, what I saw hardly pleased me. “Agreed,” she said as she went left with her technician, and I went right with mine. We agreed to meet at the exact spot where the car was parked at the end of the day.  “10.5 km’s to target,” my technician said with unres
Read more

Trends of deadly passion

I am sure most of you have heard of the phrase ‘a crime of passion’. The reservoir of modern wisdom that is Wikipedia, defines it as “ a violent crime, especially murder, in which the perpetrator commits the act against someone because of sudden strong impulse such as sudden rage rather than as a premeditated crime.” Wikipedia also states that the act, as is suggested by the name ( crime passionnel - from French language) is often associated with the history of France. However, such crimes have existed and continue to exist in most cultures. Namibia has seen a rise in the murder of young women, usually by their partner in an intimate relationship. Yes, boyfriends who kill their girlfriends. Usually siting a sudden rage brought on by a quarrel or spat which drives them to commit murder. I’ve been in relationships, and girls are weird. So I can understand how frustrated a guy can get, women are frustrating at times it’s like they are from a different planet. They can drive
Read more

Namibian education system language policy - 5 things that could go wrong

A month or two ago, or even three; time feels like it’s moving slower these days. The Namibian Education Minister announced a radical change in language policy, English would no longer be the medium of instruction in the lower primary phase. This means that from grade 1 – 5 children in the Namibian Education system will be taught in their mother tongue. I know what you are thinking, you’re probably going, “Why not? Children should be taught in their local languages.” Which is not necessarily a bad thing, research has shown that mother tongue education improves language acquisition and learning in general. However, no research has ever been done in Namibia to prove this. As it stands, there is no empirical evidence to prove that mother tongue education will work in Namibia. We seem to be copying South Africa who have a similar policy in place, South Africa has also lowered pass requirements from high school to improve results (not pointing fingers, I’m just saying). You’re prob
Read more