KHORIXAS – Swapo presidential candidate, Dr Hage Geingob, made an emotional plea for tolerance and a stop to blaming Oshiwambo-speaking people for the perceived unequal distribution of wealth in the country.
Speaking during a recent mass rally at Khorixas, Geingob urged other tribes to desist from making uninformed statements that are hurting other people, most especially Oshiwambo-speaking Namibians.
He said the Oshiwambo people feel guilty because they are many, and more aid is channeled to their regions because of their numbers – and that in no way constitutes preferential treatment in terms of development.
Geingob said Swapo is not a tribal party and is open to all tribes and races and therefore is representative of every grouping in the country.
Driving home his point, Geingob – who is also the country’s prime minister – said he canvassed most of his votes from the Oshiwambo-dominated regions during the historic Swapo congress of 2012, where he was elected to become the ruling party’s presidential candidate in next month’s general election.
“If we should have a look at the numbers then I would not have been a presidential candidate because of numbers, therefore the saying that all development is going to the former Owamboland or Owambo people is devoid of any truth,” he said.
“They are getting more because they are many in numbers, otherwise we will be discriminating against them.”
Also touching on the very sensitive issue of land, Geingob reiterated that the Swapo Party-led government will never seize land from whomever possesses land in the country.
“We adopted the policy of willing buyer, willing seller, which I must admit is a bit slow but it works, and it is still the best option and we will stay with it,” the PM said.
Geingob explained that all citizens, including the whites born in Namibia, have equal rights and opportunities in owning land, and denying any person this opportunity would constitute a breach of the supreme law of the country.
He said despite the violent manner in which Namibian communities lost their land to colonial white masters, government will not replicate the same approach in its quest to distribute land.
“No matter what has happened, we will stick to the plan as not all whites are bad and not all black men are good.”