President Hage Geingob was irritated yesterday by a remark made by Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters’ leader Epafras Mukwiilongo that presidential economic advisor and green hydrogen commissioner James Mnyupe is a foreigner, who shouldn’t have been appointed as the commissioner.
Mukwiilongo made this comment when he and his delegation visited Geingob at State House as part of the President’s consultations with leaders of political parties about Namibia’s post-Covid-19 recovery, with a focus on green hydrogen as a frontier of growth.
“I want to ask your Excellency, who is going to represent the Namibian government on this project? I am asking this question because people, especially foreigners, come up with good ideas to the President, later on to loot and to disappear, just like in the SME Bank saga. I heard Mnyupe is a foreigner. I am not happy. I want this project to be run by our own people,” Mukwiilongo stated.
Responding to Mukwiilongo, the visibly irritated Geingob said when he was told that he (Mukwiilongo) was coming to State House, he was told he would talk about foreigners. However, he said he expected him to talk about serious matters.
“Namibia is governed by the UN. Firstly, I am a Pan-African. It really hurts me as a Pan-African to hear somebody being called a foreigner. However, he (Mnyupe) is not a foreigner.
“Yes, he was not born here, but he went to school here. He has full Namibian citizenship. He is originally from Tanzania,” Geingob said, adding that he is a little bit disappointed by the comment.