N$1.8 Million Donated To Malawi Not A Problem – Analyst

By: Justicia Shipena
International relations analyst Marius Kudumo says there is nothing wrong with Namibia donating money to Malawi for humanitarian assistance.
On Thursday, Minister of Information and Communication Technology Peya Mushelenga announced that Cabinet has approved a donation of U$100,000 (N$1.86 million) to Malawi for humanitarian assistance.
Mushelenga said the donation is to assist victims of tropical cyclone Freddy.
Earlier this year, Malawi experienced a devastating flood caused by cyclone Freddy with at least 190 people reported dead.
“When you look at the disaster that struck Malawi and it being a member state [of SADC], I don’t see any reason why Namibia could not assist Malawi,” Kudumo explained.
The donation to Malawi has received criticism from the public with some citing that Namibia has turned a blind eye to its people’s needs.
According to Kudumo, international relations are sometimes about interests and collaboration.
He said people should remember that Malawi is a member state of SADC and that in terms of the SADC treaty there are principles that underpin these relationships.
“One of it is the affinity of the people, in other words the relations between these people. The other factor is the collaboration and the ideal to collectively develop the SADC member states,” he said.
He added citizens should also understand that if one of the SADC member states is under threat whether its social or economic, the threat will have an impact on the others.
However, Kudumo said the matters the people are raising are also fundamental.
He explained that Namibia needs to develop its country so that the citizens can feel that their conditions are being attended to.
“When you look at one the merit of the case in terms what affected Malawi, you are suppose to help someone who is in need and Malawi is actually in need. At the same time you need balance that your country is being developed and your citizens are being looked after,” he explained.
On the balance of scale there is nothing wrong with assisting a fellow SADC member state, he said.
Kudumo stressed that if Namibians think they donot need assistance from any other, then they must look around in terms of development assistance from countries like Germany and Japan.
“They are assisting us in building schools, roads and infrastructure. So, in the global international relationships no country is an island. They will need the assistance of others, that is what we need to take into account,” he said.
“Of course you need to balance it with the needs of your citizens so that they donot come up with the argument they are coming up with now.”
Meanwhile, activist Julius Natangwe told The Villager that it is a crisis that Namibia finds itself in terms of a government willing to assist outside.
However on the other end, he said, if the house of a neighbour has burnt down, as Africans one would normally step up and give a helping hand.
“It is complex as much as I donot like it, I donot want to say Namibia is being reckless or ignorant. Maybe they are thinking about tomorrow. Tomorrow there will be you having a flood and it is quite a difficult thing to say whether it is right or wrong,” Natangwe said.