No one is indispensable in our democratic system and to an extent it has been that way in recent years.
Politics is about giving and taking. It is about change and nothing is constant. It is about adaptability.
The 2014 Swapo electoral college, just like the DTA elective congress of last year, are testimony to the fact no one is indispensable.
Both Swapo and DTA must be congratulated for maintaining functioning inner party democracy.
Electoral colleges are not a given considering the political dynamics within each political party.
The youth have been clamouring for change while women and other proponents have advocated for more representation of women in decision-making platforms.
Some of our country’s veteran politicians walk around with a sense of ill-advised entitlement that only they must serve in certain positions and not others.
The United Democratic Front (UDF) has had a change of leadership too when its veteran president Justus Garoeb stepped down. This too was commendable.
Those who replace the old guard should not emulate this self-destructive trend.
That deep-seated sense of entitlement has haunted Namibian politics for way too long now, to the extent that once defeated fairly and squarely at democratic elective conferences, some politicians have gone on to form new political parties.
They simply cannot stomach change, let alone losing party positions.
For example, the marks of discontent from Swapo’s 2004 extraordinary congress are still evident, and so are those from CoD’s 2007 congress in Keetmanshoop.
An impression has been widely created that there’s no life beyond losing a political position.
But several politicians of our country, including Swapo’s Fillemon Malima and Libertine Amathila, have gone on to do well in business after quitting active politics.
It was notable to see some senior Swapo politicians withdrawing from the electoral college race of last weekend.
It gives the nation hope for the future that indeed there are those who will voluntarily excuse themselves from high political office, thereby creating space for others.
If veteran opposition politicians were also to draw a leaf from the likes of Nahas Angula and Marco Hausiku who opted not to stand, our country will see a gradual injection of fresh blood into all our political organisations.
Whether those who will make it to parliament vis-à-vis the parliamentary list are worth their weight in political gold is another matter.
But we draw hope from the evident evolution that Namibian politics is currently undergoing.
Many who made it onto the Swapo list for possible parliamentary seats are seasoned professionals albeit with little parliamentary experience.
The ruling party must rejoice at the fact that many of its heavyweights, such as the party’s Chief Whip, Professor Peter Katjavivi, Minister of Finance Saara Kugongelwa-Amadhila, the Minister of Fisheries Bernard Esau performed fairly well and will of course be on call.
The good thing about the results is many youth such as the deputy secretary of the SPYL, Veikko Nekundi, State House senior staffer Christine //Hosebes, former SPYL leader Ipumbu Lucia, former SPYL education secretary, Natangwe Ithete could bring energetic debate to the August House.
As much as we need the wisdom of most of our seasoned politicians, they too need to understand that there comes a time when they will have to take a back seat on the bus and allow others to steer it.
One cannot deny the huge contribution the “old guard” made to bring development to our country but as is in any other career, there comes a time when change becomes inevitable.