Pretty sure all the operators there aren't paying 36k. And for the size aircraft you are flying there, getting 36k is criminal as it is.
I was getting 65k on the Caravan in Canada.
Most of those people that you are comparing yourself to, are not average people either. They are the well to do's.
Windhoek and Swakop are certainly not your average African city. Swakop certainly was the rich persons retreat over xmas and new years.
Cellphones in botswana cost around $15 a month for a normal plan. For those of us from the rest of the world, that is more than reasonable.
Rent when sharing a house is around $400 a month. Pay is around $1800. Cost of living there on out depended on what you wanted to eat and do. Most of that cost around 200-400 a month.
I was saving around $1000 a month. I know that's not huge, but when I left that place after 2 years, I had around 15k in the bank and 2000hrs in my logbook, and I didn't have to pay for any of my ratings, or work horrendous hours.
But that was just my experience.