Today, as the ruling Swapo Party goes to the “pot” to select the next generation of leadership who are set to form the nucleus of Namibia’s fourth Republic, we are humbly reminded not to lose focus of Namibia’s liberation struggle and purpose of independence, namely the furtherance of Nation Building, the molding of a truly One Namibia, One Nation in which no one should feel left out.
This is the main raison d’ etre for the candidature of Prime Minister Dr Hage Gottfried Geingob as the 3rd flag bearer of the ruling Swapo party
Dr Geingob’s undisputed pole position both in the Swapo Party and within the country is no fluke, or stroke of luck, neither an accident, but a deliberate, historically appointed confluence of events which can best be described by the French parlance of a force majeure: an unstoppable convergence of both the history and the future of this country beyond just mere human control.
The three hundred and twelve (312) Swapo Party Extraordinary Congress voters, who led from the vanguard under President Hifikepunye Pohamba, described as a “Silent Giant,” and supported by the towering political morale of the Founding President, Dr Sam Nujoma, gave their votes on the historically appointed day of December 2, 2012, to ensure that Geingob’s emphatic victory over the nearest rival with 220 votes and the 3rd one with 64 votes, were keenly aware of the historical necessity for such an outcome: the uninterrupted continuation of Namibia’ s nation building process.
Therefore under this “Doctrine of [Historical] Necessity” it is presumed the next President would be a catalyst in passing Namibia’s political leadership baton into the safe hands of responsible, mature, transparent, honest, inclusive, committed and hardworking Namibians, within and outside of Swapo.
These, in turn will continue building on the foundation of a single unitary Namibia so that the gains of the liberation struggle are not reversed. Therefore, not only does Geingob have a fixed rendezvous with destiny, but so too, are the young men and women who will be emerging successfully from the Swapo pot and those from the opposition parties who will compose the leadership of the Fourth Republic.
Historically attuned New Generation Leadership
However, it is crucial that the new generation of leadership fully understand the context of the country’s present and future direction as informed by its longsuffering past. Those not willing to understand the totality of that history should have no business to partake in the new generation leadership as they are bound to commit senseless mistakes based on their clueless, careless and narrow interpretation of the Namibian political landscape in an a historical context. Namibia’s past is littered with the blood of Namibian martyrs, starting with the German genocide wars and throughout the modern liberation struggle, led by the Swapo Party. Whether on the battlefield, villages, or cities including Windhoek, Namibian families from all walks across the land will testify that they have lost a brother, sister, mother, father, uncle or cousin who either was killed by the South African army or the then local Koevoet (Makakunyas) or Etango collaborators, or disappeared from schools or homes, taken away by the Police Special Branch for interrogation and never returned.
Until this day, the fate of these loves ones remains an unknown secret, yet we have escaped the urges for retribution, blood for blood!
Many countries such as Rwanda, Burundi and Liberia were not as fortunate as Namibia to escape the consequent carnage following the pattern of full-scale revenge by the formerly oppressed against their brothers and sisters who collaborated with the enemy in the oppression exercise.
Such a political disaster was avoided in Namibia because of the policy of National Reconciliation which prevented reprisals by the ex-Plan and members of the population against the notorious Koevoets (Makakunyas), Etango’s, members of the South West Africa Territorial Force, and whites. This policy established as a cornerstone by the Founding President Dr Sam Nujoma supported by the 1st Prime Minister of Namibia, Geingob and the first Cabinet, has been successful in maintaining peace. Peace, which some youngsters and failed politicians are nowadays taking for granted with their senseless and directionless talks of empty yet demagogue type of a blend of tribal revolutionarism, and aggression around the constitutional amendments. In this regard, Nujoma the Founding President is not only the hero of the liberation struggle, but also the glue that holds the Namibian nation together as a unifying national symbol.
As an additional yet most valuable cog in the nation building wheels, is President Hifikepunye Pohamba, who in the 3rd Republic consolidated the gains of peace, democracy and unity, and is applauded and hailed for that as one of the greatest statesmen in Africa and the world. It is against, this backdrop, that Geingob’s ascendancy to the Presidency should be viewed.
He has the unenviable task of the Thabo Mbeki’s and of the Deng Xiaoping’s who against all odds succeeded to transform the political gains of their country’s freedom into tangible service delivery and economic benefits, and thereby turned the formerly trampled upon people into masters of their own destiny.
Geingob is not only expected to maintain the solid foundations of peace, unity and democracy established under his two predecessors, but to simultaneously provide instant and equal access to housing, jobs, business opportunities, sanitation, health and other basic services to Namibians who until now have not benefitted from these.
The task on Geingob’s shoulders as the next President of Namibia and those coming out from the Swapo pot is monumental and therefore not “business as usual.”
They will need nothing short of a revolutionary professionalisation of the civil service to deliver the goods to the people, and for the few rotten apples in the civil service to keep their hands off the peoples’ till, and say goodbye to the public sector, for professionals to come in and do what is right, and required within the time needed.
It is within this context that the Swapo Party leadership and rank and file have identified Geingob, based on his track record, unifying credentials, sharp intellect, unquestionable commitment, administrative skills and transparency as the most competent senior leader to continue the nation building project started well before and after 1990.
The historical necessity of his candidature was not and will never be determined by his designation of being of Damara descent, just like that of the Founding President and President Hifikepunye Pohamba was not determined by their Oshivambo origins.
Similarly, it is also expected that as usual the Swapo Party Congress will chose not based on tribal origins, the most suitable candidates well known for their maturity, inclusivity, and commitment to serve without hidden agendas alongside Geingob as his most trusted Cabinet Ministers, advisors and so forth.
Futility of Agenda 2017
Therefore, SWAPO and Namibia at this juncture do not need people either fronting as the “Civil Society” to try and drive a wedge between Geingob and President Pohamba, or between Geingob and the Swapo Party, as can be seen in the “Open Letter” written to President Pohamba by the members from NANGOF, Sister Namibia, MISA, CATS, Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), Action Namibian and so forth. They are trying to depict the much-needed constitutional changes to ensure effective service delivery to the Namibian people as a Geingob empire building, and not as the ruling Swapo Party Government proposal which it indeed is. As the civil society and a local daily newspaper which even during the Swapo congress were visually anti-Geingob, move into overdrive zealous propaganda, using from degrading cartoons to SMS writers boldly yet baselessly asserting that someone else wrote Geingob’s thesis, the situation calls for immediate corrective action. These attempts are designed as per the muted whispers of a futile Agenda 2017, apparently mooted by some clueless, born frees, posturing as heros of democracy, to portray an unsuitable, un-Swapo like Geingob, while painting some johnny-come-lately as the “Saviour”, yet amazingly the Swapo administrative machinery has been quiet, or perhaps it is readying for a full counter frontal offensive.
Also, some individuals despite the declared commitment and actual comradely collaboration between Geingob, Cde Jerry Ekandjo and Cde Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana in the party’s overall interest after the primaries, are uttering very dangerous ideas stoking the fires of regionalism and tribalism through their wildly exaggerated claims such as one recent letter which sought to cause division between the minorities and the majority tribal groupings.
The dangerous insinuation in that letter that one of the tribal groupings could start defending itself from the “collective attack” is clearly that the author either does not understand the word collective, or has a deficiency with his intellectual capability to hear, conceptualize and perceive a collective attack where there is none. It is not clear whether close comrades and sponsors of that writer are supporting these ahistorical, anti-liberation struggle and non-sensical claims, and hence are not advising him to desist from such utterances.
The Swapo Party Should Rally
What is troubling in both instances is that apart from Geingob who came out strongly in his recent parliamentary statement against the resurgence of tribalism, not much has been forthcoming from the organs of the Swapo Party such as the Women, the Veterans, and even the Youth, to condemn these wild and dangerous claims belying the glorious history of Namibia’s liberation struggle, while threatening to undo the foundations of peace and unity with tribal torches.
Also what is perturbing is that those entrusted with the enforcement of party discipline, as per the Swapo Party Constitution, Article III, Aims and Objectives which among others reads, to unite the people of Namibia ….; foster a sense of common purpose and collective destiny….; to instill in Namibians a spirit of patriotism…; and to combat retrogressive tendencies of tribalism, ethnicity, nepotism, racism, sexism, chauvinism, regionalism, personality cult, etc., are completely tight-lipped on these perilous utterances from a prominent party member.
More upsetting and inexplicable is the silence from the Ministries and institutions responsible for the enforcement of the Racial Discrimination Prohibition Act, 1991 (No.26 of 1991), which among others prohibits anyone from publicly using any language or publish or distribute any matter with the intent “to cause, encourage or incite disharmony or feelings of hostility, hatred or ill-will between different racial groups or persons belonging to different racial groups.”
At least an investigation into whether the said letter conforms to the material prohibited by the Act should at the barest minimum have been instituted, particularly in view that a person of the stature of the Prime Minister considered the issue so critical to reference it in his parliamentary statement. But instead, there is absolute quietness or lethargy akin to the sense of “yeah yeah, we have seen and heard it all before, it’s business as usual.” Also, the same gentleman has lately added his voice to the chorus of the choir singers condemning the constitutional amendments, thus exhibiting ill discipline of the highest order. This clearly illustrates the need for tightening discipline within Swapo to deal with rebellious tendencies, if the future Swapo is to avoid internal disintegration due to ill-discipline under the pretext of democratic freedom of expression.
In the past, the motto that an “injury to one is an injury to all” had a literal meaning and connotation, as many comrades would rally through demonstrations and press statements behind their presidential candidate to defend against character assassination. Clearly, some puppet masters are out there using civil society and the media to paint a different Geingob, contrary to the one trusted by the Swapo Party leadership, rank and file, and a majority of Namibians, as the only befitting candidate for the Namibian presidency.
Therefore, the responsible party organs and even the relevant Ministry of Information and Communication Technology will do well to emerge from the closet and counter this uncalled for media blackening of the Prime Minister, who is the Swapo Party sole presidential candidate, and also to track down if any, those disloyal, ill-disciplined Swapo Party members masquerading as Cdes while plotting to undo Swapo by collaborating with the foreign handlers of the “Civil Society” and sections of the media, already searching for regime change opportunities according to Agenda 2017, even before the formation of the fourth Republic.
The Swapo pot should throw out these masquerades and ensure they do not wreck party unity and discipline, as well as sabotage the nation building project by coming into the Cabinet of the fourth Republic to sow disunity, dissension, rebellion and tribal chaos to transform Namibia into another Rwanda or Burundi. Let the Swapo pot cook up as it has always done previously, loyal, inclusive, transparent nation builders and unifiers to support the Geingob presidency for a peaceful developmental State for all Namibians.
Citizen for Progress