Namibia: The Namibia Air Pipedream

The government’s insistence on reviving a national airline that has already cost taxpayers a hefty N$8.4 billion shows that Namibia’s leaders are either out of touch with economic realities or know what they want and want to continue gambling with what is not theirs.

A country with national unemployment of 36.9%, stagnant economic growth, rampant poverty and high inequality has no business pumping scarce resources into vanity projects such as a state-owned airline.

For years, a section of…