By Victor Angula|
It seems like Covid-19 hasn’t taught us much. If there is anything we have learned from the novel corona virus situation it certainly must be minimal.
So much has been said about the lesson learned from Covid-19 that our country must find ways to produce enough food, goods and services so that it would no longer depend too much on other countries. Lockdowns and travel restrictions had put us in a vulnerable position.
But then two years down the line nothing much has been done so far in terms of coming up with plans to ensure Namibia’s self-sustenance. All the talk became cheap talk.
Now the war in Ukraine is bringing up the same talk again, that we are in a vulnerable position. Ukraine and Russia are our source of lots of foodstuff and other stuff, so that the continued war there will affect us badly.
One is tempted to say that let the war in Ukraine continue so that we can learn a big lesson. Covid-19 didn’t teach us anything. The lockdowns and closed borders did not last long enough for us to feel the heat.
Why we are refusing to be producers is something that I fail to understand.
In the National Budget released by Finance Minister two weeks ago the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development received N$232,102 million compared to the Office of the President which received N$613,507 million and the Office of the Prime Minister which received N$394,332 million or even the Ministry of Defence which received N$5,847,695 million.
You can see that creating industries is not one of our priorities.
Now please, let’s just keep quiet if the war in Ukraine goes on and on and teach us a hard lesson by making food prices skyrocket and make it possible for us to go looting the shops and act like a mad nation.
For that is what we are: a nation that cannot feed itself is a mad nation.
