A Modern German Lesson for Namibia's Prosperity

http://www.namibian.com.na/54652/read/A-Modern-German-Lesson 12. May 2017, Opinions Columns

http://www.namibian.com.na/54379/read/A-Modern-German-Lesson-for-Namibias-Prosperity  19 May 2017, Letters

Hengari’s analysis and advice is fundamentally wrong, be it from lack of research and comprehension or an abundance of naïvety and opportunism. The title should be: “A lesson how not to repeat the German example for Namibian prosperity”.
Today we are able to review the results of Schröder’s ‘Agenda 2010’. It is a picture book example that one can not trust a politician. Schröder’s promises turned out to be the breakthrough of the neoliberal economic principle: The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The Agenda 2010 abandoned the social state and created a new class of precarious employment. Today about 30% of labour contracts are part time with wages below the poverty line. This looks good in the unemployment statistics, but is not enough for a decent living or retirement pensions. Germany now has the largest low wage labour force in Europe. This resulted in stealing jobs from Southern Europe (Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece) and exporting poverty to these countries. Germany has a tremendous export surplus, while forcing austerity measures on EU partners. The success of the agenda 2010 was achieved at the expense of the lower third of the population and Southern Europe. The upper 10% of the population got tax breaks (inheritance tax, tax on assets) and could easily increase their wealth. The Gini coefficient of Germany is constantly going worse (in direction to Namibia’s). Schröder’s measures killed the 150 year’s old tradition of Social Democracy sending his Social Democratic Party into insignificance (according to the latest elections).
This shows these neoliberal ‘reforms’ were not designed to enhance the common good as they pretended to be. This model will not work in Namibia, because it is not possible to cut down on the low wage labour (Namibia is already low wage throughout) and Namibia can not export poverty to its neighbours (because they are poor already).
In my opinion Geingob and the Namibian elite are not interested in eradicating poverty. They enjoy being above the ‘hoi polloi’ (the common people). The Harambee Prosperity Plan babble is just a smoke screen for pacifying the electorate, there is no political will for substantial reforms. It is at its best an example of well-meant, but poorly performed intentions, at the worst a sham.
To eradicate poverty the government had to transfer resources from the ‘nice to have’ institutions like the NDF, SOEs, inflated government and public service to the impoverished people. Even job creation and education would be only a drop on the hot stone, because Namibia can’t compete with even poorer nations like Bangladesh or Vietnam and educational skills will be devalued by Industry 4.0. Poverty is the guarantee for eternally continued poverty. History is watching...

So the amazing Alfredo crossed my way again. And he follows the proven rule: publish or perish. But it surprises me, that he still doesn’t care about the intellectual integrity and factual veracity of his musings, now since he is an approved scientist. That thrusts a possible explanation on me: he is training for and preparing a career in politics, where these qualities are negligible and cumbersome. 
The standard question from his last job interview: “Where do you see yourself in 10 or 20 years?”, he answered: “As the 5^th or 6^th President of the Republic of Namibia”.(Watch out! Satire)

Still, as at the time of German language teacher in Katutura, he is a ‘man too full of himself’.