One blunder after another It certainly has been an interesting 24 hours in the political landscape of our country. Just after lunch yesterday the embattled environment minister made a dramatic U-turn regarding the contentious issue of phosphate mining. After spending weeks defending his subordinate, the environmental commissioner, Teofilus Nghitila for granting Namibia marine Phosphate (NMP) an environmental clearance certificate to mine phosphate off the Namibian coast, Shifeta surprised all and sundry when he announced that the clearance must be withdrawn with immediate effect. The cancellation of the clearance, Shifeta says, will allow key stakeholders like the ministry of fisheries to give their input. The phosphate mining debacle has been the talk of nation, and to underline its massive impact on the country, a number of fishing federations and associations have approached the High Court with an urgent application to oppose the clearance certificate given to NMP. What is disturbing in this whole saga however is that government has failed to provide leadership and like a bunch of amateurs, they have been dishing out contradictory statements, left, right and centre, on this issue of national concern. Fisheries minister Bernard Esau didn''t pull punches in reaffirming his ministry''s position on the matter last week, while attorney-general Sacky Shanghala also provided dissenting views on phosphate in the absence of a complete investigation surrounding the detrimental environmental effects of seabed mining off the Namibian coast. We have always advocated for servant leadership in this country where leaders hold themselves and others accountable to their commitments. Obviously the issue of phosphate mining is not off the table as yet and anything can happen in the next coming weeks, especially in light of a special cabinet meeting scheduled for next week to deliberate on the matter. However, unfortunately we have seen many instances where “untouchables” are getting away with things, even if their blunders are obvious for all to see. While it really takes a strong person to admit fault - is Shifeta and company simply going to admit to this huge blunder and move on? Will heads roll this time around? What a shame!One blunder after another It certainly has been an interesting 24 hours in the political landscape of our country. Just after lunch yesterday the embattled environment minister made a dramatic U-turn regarding the contentious issue of phosphate mining. After spending weeks defending his subordinate, the environmental commissioner, Teofilus Nghitila for granting Namibia marine Phosphate (NMP) an environmental clearance certificate to mine phosphate off the Namibian coast, Shifeta surprised all and sundry when he announced that the clearance must be withdrawn with immediate effect. The cancellation of the clearance, Shifeta says, will allow key stakeholders like the ministry of fisheries to give their input. The phosphate mining debacle has been the talk of nation, and to underline its massive impact on the country, a number of fishing federations and associations have approached the High Court with an urgent application to oppose the clearance certificate given to NMP. What is disturbing in this whole saga however is that government has failed to provide leadership and like a bunch of amateurs, they have been dishing out contradictory statements, left, right and centre, on this issue of national concern. Fisheries minister Bernard Esau didn''t pull punches in reaffirming his ministry''s position on the matter last week, while attorney-general Sacky Shanghala also provided dissenting views on phosphate in the absence of a complete investigation surrounding the detrimental environmental effects of seabed mining off the Namibian coast. We have always advocated for servant leadership in this country where leaders hold themselves and others accountable to their commitments. Obviously the issue of phosphate mining is not off the table as yet and anything can happen in the next coming weeks, especially in light of a special cabinet meeting scheduled for next week to deliberate on the matter. However, unfortunately we have seen many instances where “untouchables” are getting away with things, even if their blunders are obvious for all to see. While it really takes a strong person to admit fault - is Shifeta and company simply going to admit to this huge blunder and move on? Will heads roll this time around? What a shame!