Engel Nawatiseb
I could not sit completely idle and absorb the destruction caused by the malice of an unfortunate political fight that erupted right in my face as a caring leader in my great region of Oshikoto.
Whether I am part of the demographics of the Oshikoto region by chance, by choice or by hook or crook does not matter at this juncture but the fact that I am serving a community, which becomes a target of a political right and or remain a target of a political wrong, remains undefeated and real.
The saga relates to the political representation in the National Council by our elected leaders that have come to public attention, and the fight to withdraw or not withdraw the current serving councillors has been dragging on with the authorities at National Council, cautioning the ruling party that the move, either way, will have a bitter taste in the final analysis.
The withdrawn candidates have vowed to take legal action, whereas the new replacement candidates feel entitled to take the seats at the National Council.
Who is at the right if political parties have the mandate to install and/or recall and at which interval should such decisions be taken, and would such intervention benefit the electorate at the conclusion of the internal fighting?
The Oshikoto region has always been an interesting, vast constituency, made up of 11 smaller constituencies that are run by persons from one ethnic orientation only.
I hail from and subsequently inhabit a constituency that is smaller but superior by brain politics because Tsumeb was the origin of native politics that ignited the worker’s revolution in this country that led to the resolve to fight for the emancipation and total liberation of Namibia.
The question to present to the powers that be is whether the Oshikoto politics at play have any benefit to the peoples of Tsumeb or whether we remain at the periphery as usual culprits and remain followers without any powers to influence decisions.
It will either be a waste of time to probe for reasons that will present answers to the origin of the political squabbles that intensified shortly in the aftermath of the seventh elective Swapo congress in November last year.
Being part of the Oshikoto region already provides the answers, because the unity being displayed here is at face value and will never benefit the count-by-count individual, who forms part of the mighty Oshikoto region.
The ultimate benefits will stream up multiple advantages to the individual leader who enjoys popularity at a given time at the compromising expense of those who fall out of favour for political reasons.
It remains a hard pill to swallow for politicians without a thick skin to realise that politics is an art that will dump and bury you alive when losing power and popularity – and if you are unable to manage that period effectively, it will render you irrelevant forever.
Leaders will completely forget the political relevance that was attached to your shrine when serving the national council and/or your electorate through the elected corridor.
It is, therefore, important for politicians to have a political constituency because it matters and counts in your favour when you leave political office.
Also, how you behaved and engaged your constituency while serving in that particular portfolio is another question to answer when rejoining the fray from your shrine.
Now, as we are confronted by the ‘tug of war’ to determine who must and must not represent us in the National Council; how long shall the people from a cosmopolitan town, set up like Tsumeb, have to cry foul?
Is it perhaps time for the Delimitation Commission to demarcate and establish a second political region for Oshikoto (South) so that the mix-up of various ethnic groupings that constitute the constituency of Tsumeb is integrated into the political relevance of the mighty Oshikoto region or not?
I was the mayor of Tsumeb at the time when Parliament took a conscious decision to migrate the status of the capital of Oshikoto to the Omuthiya constituency or town.
The well-intended purpose was aimed at decentralising services so that the residents at the far end of Olukonda could also access public services easily.
That decision, unfortunately, resulted in the migration of the entire mandate and powers – and ever since, people in the cosmopolitan hierarchy of the region were left to fend for themselves.
Do we observe the characteristics of the Namibian House in the Oshikoto region when we put up bricks to build the Oshikoto house?
In this particular instance, for example, here we are using copper slag to construct the house that is supposed to unify the region so that the political and social fabric could feature prominently and be integrated inclusively to serve a common purpose – and we know for a fact that the slag only has one colour and what it is being used for before it is finally deposited and declared a waste product.
The slag is then heaped up and forgotten until an entrepreneur develops an interest to reuse it and extract smaller potentials from its original value. Do we still find credible people in our society and universe who willingly volunteer to be used like a metal commodity and forget the principles that you stood for?
Leadership is not blind, yet turning a naked eye on such realities can isolate others and constitute another typical SWANLA that is exclusively for a certain category of people. Ask me more off-record, and I will be more factual and concise.
Is it perhaps a wake-up call for the Electoral Commission of Namibia or rather Parliament to amend the legislation governing the electoral system in Namibia to consider the introduction of a ward system like in South African local authorities that enable voters from a particular constituency to elect their representative to the National Council and National Assembly, using the constituency-based direct representation, rather than delegating representatives to such structures through political parties.
Dominant political parties have an obligation towards all inhabitants, irrespective of their political affiliation as long as we use the electoral system that allows proportionate representation to the houses of parliament.
As much as it is a fact, that elections are a central feature of democracy, I will insist on the fact that our system, which is not cast in stone, should balance the representation through guided democracy that allows minority groups to be fairly represented because democratic outcomes in certain regions will always be overwhelmed by the stronger voting block and subsequently disadvantage the minority groups because of its obvious results; hence, it is not by coincidence that citizens have started to voice their anger based on the obvious outcomes of recruitment processes involving systems, institutions and processes.
Do not write me off completely; you will need my vote to remain politically relevant.
* Engel Nawatiseb is a Reuters Foundation accredited international journalist, a former regional treasurer of Swapo in the Oshikoto region, a former deputy minister in the Republic of Namibia, a member of the sixth Parliament, a former mayor of Tsumeb and a former freedom fighter without a veteran status in Namibia.