Editorial They say talk is cheap – What they didn''t say is that talking is unproductive and that only actions bring rewards. This seems to be especially true in Namibia where we are able to talk very well on podiums and at gatherings or in the public eye, but fall woefully short at acting on our pledges and delivering results later on.
A wise man once said that if you want to get something done start immediately where you are and work with what you''ve got, the rest will put in its appearance later on as you go along. There seems to be a direct parallel between these words and what''s happening (or not happening) in Namibia.
We have all this talk about NEEEF and how we are going to get money and shares from businesses, but we have around N$4 billion in outstanding and uncollected taxes, accumulated over many years. Even better than that, we have hundreds if not thousands of businesses not paying any taxes at all.
We have talked about cutting government costs and our Finance Minister did a good job to this end when his hand was forced, but surely it should also be more about productivity and action, not just cutting costs. What happened to all the talk about regular performance appraisals and management?
We have heard a lot about the mineral riches we as a country are sitting on, but what happens when in the current economic climate nobody buys these commodities anymore? Will we talk some more? What we are going to do? Are we going to think, diversify and act?
A lot of talking, fact finding and feasibility studies are being done again – regarding our water problem in the central (and other) regions of the country. This is an old problem, it has been known for a long time! When the taps run dry in the next few months and all the reserves have been depleted – will we still be talking, discussing and doing nothing? Is it not time to stop talking and start doing what needs to be done?