Threatening socio-economic decline While there is nothing wrong with the broad ideals of the proposed NEEEF Bill, the end result of this is piece of legislation leaves many people with feelings that it’s discriminatory, mainly to the poor and downtrodden. At the same time, the entire process has brought out some other pertinent issues like the arrogance of the business community and their complaints about discrimination without offering any viable alternatives – like perhaps a 25% solidarity tax to benefit everyone? This brings us to the very question of solidarity tax – if indeed the Proposed NEEEF Bill could have proposed a percentage of solidarity tax to be levied on business, instead of the current scenario which is entirely geared towards benefitting an elite few people (no doubt the most greedy ones too – the ones that will not share a single cent), then we would not have any problem with the bill. In fact the majority of Namibians would support the Bill – vocally, I might add (except the business people of course).
This once again brings us to the business people, their arrogance and the way they continue to treat their workers without whom they would not make any money in the first place.
Most workers in Namibia still only have rights on paper which disappear once they try to find justice – why? The fact of the matter is that in its current state the NEEEF Bill will only benefit a select few – that’s if the businesses don’t close down and ship out – which would lead to greater unemployment figures and greater poverty as a result and overall economic decline.
The authors of the Bill are obviously blinded by greed at the prospects of personal material gain in the form of their new and “innovative” benefit scheme for the elite, and designed by the elite.
On the other hand, the just as greedy business community, driven by arrogance, hasn’t come up with any alternatives for a scheme to benefit the poverty stricken majority on whose backs they built their empires. As long as critical reasoning escapes us, we are headed for disaster.