By Engel Nawatiseb TSUMEB The Swapo party Oshikoto Regional Conference has re-elected its regional coordinator Armas Amukwiyu to head party activities for the next five years. David “Quito” Mulunga was re-elected as regional mobilizer, while Johnny Nghitongo retained his position as regional treasurer of the party. Amukwiyu’s mandate was reportedly endorsed unanimously by all 10 districts in the region who nominated him as the sole candidate, while former MP Nico Kaiyamo, Oshikoto Regional Governor Penda Ya Ndakoloh, National Council MPs Henock Kankoshi and Fillemon Njambula, were elected as candidates for the party’s Central Committee that will be decided at the upcoming congress towards the end of the year. Kaiyamo’s comeback to politics has been welcomed by the Tsumeb community whom he previously served for two full terms before quitting in 2004. Speaking to New Era after his nomination, Kaiyamo said his comeback was targeted at contributing towards the on-going struggle for the economic emancipation of the country. His exit from active politics at the time was received with mixed feelings, although he pointed out that it was done in a “give and take” spirit. “I do not want to dwell much on the historical facts, but I am currently intending to come back with a boom cause I only needed time to speak to myself and decide whether I want to pursue a political life or not. Sometimes a person needs to make a long-term decision in life, instead of being there simply because you want to be seen to be there,” he said. Kaiyamo was nominated by the party’s Tsumeb district conference as its sole candidate and sailed through to the next round at the regional conference held in Onankali last weekend. Party coordinator Amukwiyu told New Era that the electoral process was conducted in a smooth spirit where the party’s previous resolutions were also discussed, among them the party’s recruitment campaign gearing up for the next general elections. “Our party will remain a formidable force to be reckoned with in the local politics of the country; there is no way that we will compromise our support to ‘fly by night’ opposition parties in our region. We have worked very hard to convince and rally the electorate behind our ruling party, it being the sole and authentic representatives of development in the entire country. We however remain vigilant to avert the challenges posed by unscrupulous elements within and outside our party, because we know exactly who they are,” said Amukwiyu. He further encouraged party members to master the provisions of Swapo Party and the country’s constitution to allow them to execute their duties within the framework of the law, while appealing for mass political mobilization on issues of development. Amukwiyu also condemned members that turn to the media to defame the characters of genuine party leaders and activists in an attempt to create confusion. “While it is your guaranteed right to expression, the current trends are deliberate acts of sabotage and disrespect towards one another. Let us live on Swapo and promote and protect the interest of the party. Each one of us should await our legitimate chances of climbing the ladder in the party hierarchy, but not to step on each other’s toes and stomachs to reach ‘there’ by applying the ‘pull him/her down (PHD)’ syndrome. Swapo does not know that language. We do not teach it. Where some of our members obtained those degrees is only known to them, anyway,” he said.