Namibia - a pleasant surprise on the African continent

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Namibia – a pleasant surprise on the African continent

Tourists coming to Namibia often have a complete misperception of what it is like here. Most tourists expect to be greeted by half-naked savages, brandishing torches and knives and dancing about a campfire, the women sitting and grinding maize, whilst the lions prowl around the perimeter of the settlement. I have seen numerous people disembark from luxury ocean liners in the port of Walvis Bay with looks of absolute astonishment on their faces, as if they expected to be ferried out on a rowboat on to a deserted beach. We are actually quite civilized here, but it seems as if most of the rest of the world do not realize it.

Namibia’s peaceful and fairly successful multi-ethnic society has succeeded in maintaining a very stable economy in the twelve years since independence. Economic development during this period has been steadily positive since the bloodless and peaceful transition to independence, standing in sharp contrast in this regard to many other similar African countries. Freedom of press and speech also play an important part in our society, and several successful newspapers and one relatively successful television channel bear testimony to this. Regrettably, it does happen that our media broadcasts the wrong message to the audience locally and internationally. Often an image is sent out of darkest Africa, of people living in poverty and dying of diseases such as AIDS and tuberculosis, and compounded by predictions that Namibia could be heading the way of Zimbabwe in terms of land redistribution and economic ruin. This is the main reason why tourists often have this complete misunderstanding of our culture and why so many people want to emigrate. The Government of Namibia, whilst not perfect in its endeavours, has striven to grow the economy by encouraging foreign investment through various initiatives, most notably the EPZ (Export Processing Zone)  regime, which provides strong tax free investment benefits to foreign investors. The Government is similarly investing heavily in education, which at twenty eight percent of the national budget represents the highest proportion in this regard of any African country. This approach has already led to the establishment of a steadily growing black middle class, with values rooted in democracy and the pursuit of economic prosperity. It is thus unfortunate the international media is also often guilty of generalization of the problems of Africa, thus creating the wrong impression of Namibia.

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There are a large number of tourist attractions in our country, and a great number of tourists come here each year to view them. By far the most famous and most visited must be the Etosha National Game Park, which is situated in the northern area of the country. There are three rest camps at which to stay in the park, which are called Okaukuejo, Halali and Namutoni respectively. One must not be fooled by the term “rest camp”, they are actually very close to luxury holiday resorts. By far the most luxurious (and expensive) is the Okaukuejo camp, ...

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