EDITORIAL: Losing the ideals of liberation

African liberation movements, now with their hands on the levers of power in their respective countries, have persistently stood accused of simply becoming enablers of massive state looting.

Namibia’s ruling party is not immune. South Africa, a nation that was once viewed as the hope of a continent and a torchbearer for African excellence, is in the midst of a plethora of probes on the wholesale capture of its state by elements that siphoned off hundreds of billions through the targeting of parastatals and other government contracts.

In Angola, investigations are ongoing into how former president Eduardo dos Santos and his family benefitted massively from the resources of the oil-rich nation.

In Zimbabwe, Zanu-PF, under the now late Robert Mugabe, turned into an instrument to keep the erstwhile dictator in power for decades. This has taken place as ordinary citizens continue to suffer from the yoke of poverty, while individuals accumulated wealth at a rate of astronomical proportions.

Here in Namibia, our beloved motherland, one in two youths is at home without a job.

What has become increasingly obvious is that the status quo in Namibia cannot remain. Whoever emerges as the governing party and president in the 2024 elections will have to display, in action, what is required to drag our nation out of this corruption morass. There is no way our resource-rich nation can continue to only benefit those with no conscience.