Namibia’s Sleeping Giant Called Foreign Affairs

NAMIBIA'S silence around major, but non-related events in both Libya and Japan bedevil me.

Within hours of Japan's devastating earthquake on Friday, South African President Jacob Zuma sent a message to his Japanese counterpart.
This is the same Zuma who recently sent a tough message to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to "stop killing innocent civilians". Pretoria also froze the Libyan government's assets in South Africa.
Zuma is not everyone's favourite but he seems to be on the ball with some of the things that matter - and especially foreign policy related.
When Gaddafi came under fire Zuma called him by telephone and raised his concern about the killings before he ordered the department of international relations and co-operation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to write to financial institutions, private agencies and state departments ordering the freezing of assets belonging to Gaddafi and his close associates.
In Namibia, we have yet to hear what either our President Hifikepunye Pohamba or the Cabinet has to say about the civil war in Libya.
I know that Libya supported Namibia materially, morally and politically during the liberation struggle.
Many of Swapo's freedom fighters and nurses were trained in that country.
But it took Libya 17 years to open an embassy in Windhoek. It had only a Charge d'Affaires until 2007.
Last month we read about how Namibia stood up against Gaddafi at an African Union meeting when he pulled an integration report for an 'alternative United States of Africa'. In fact, Namibia reportedly led a group of countries which called for the release of the Libyan report.
That is why it is puzzling when there is a total blackout about our stance regarding current events in Libya.
Worse of all is the fact that Foreign Affairs hardly moved an inch to explain or say something when Namibians on a trade mission, of which the Ministry of Trade was also aware, were trapped in Tripoli.
Officials in the ministry might have been involved in assisting the Namibians (and I hope they did) but doing it quietly is of no help to other Namibians who might want to know about the whereabouts of their relatives.
And the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is there to be seen to serve the interest of the wider Namibian public.
As the mission statement says, it is there to promote "national interests".
Similarly, it is now a week since the earthquake in Japan which has killed thousands and caused destruction worth billions.
But we have not had a single word on the whereabouts and fate of Namibians in that country.
One would have assumed that our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Utoni Nujoma, his deputy Peya Mushelenga or someone high up in the ministry would have called a media briefing to inform the nation about the events there and how we are involved in assisting Namibians there, if not even the Japanese.
When the Libyan revolution started, reporters struggled to get comment because the top three in the ministry were all travelling.
Apparently one or two even attended an African meeting which discussed the situation in Libya but returned quietly without informing the nation about the outcome of this meeting.
Or are they only accountable to President Hifikepunye Pohamba, to whom they are supposed to present a regular progress report on their work?
Isn't Minister Nujoma seen as the next big thing in Swapo? Is his promotion to Foreign Affairs not meant to expose him to the outside world as a future President of the country? If so, I would have thought that he would grab such opportunities worth both hands to show that he was on top of his job!
For his part, Mushelenga is supposed to be Swapo Youth League's secretary for international affairs. It means he is another youth leader being prepared for the future. He should also know the game by now.
Why do they actually travel if they can't brief the nation upon their return? I am not saying we want to know about their everyday affairs but events such as those in Libya are surely of interest to the wider Namibia!
Something is lacking at Foreign Affairs. It is called openness and proactiveness.
It is high time that the ministry wakes up.
, Zuma