The visit of the Landless People’s Movement to State House this week signifies an extremely positive and welcome evolution in national politics.
The last time LPM leader Bernadus Swartbooi was there in an official capacity saw him leave in a huff, minus his official title and his cool. He had even forgotten his cellphone. Swartbooi’s rage had gotten the better of him, and he had disparaged his then boss Utoni Nujoma in parliament. He would not retreat, and President Hage Geingob was left with little wiggle room but to ask him to vacate his deputy ministerial position.
He did. He soon thereafter left parliament and the ruling party.
Swartbooi then established the LPM with the aim of disrupting Swapo’s stranglehold on power in both national as well as local politics. A fete the LPM has largely managed in a relatively short period.
But that wasn’t the last time Swartbooi’s rage got the better of him. During the last State of the Nation Address, the now LPM leader and his loyal lieutenant Henny Seibeb tossed more than their toys and hurled more than just insults towards Geingob, the governing party and the entire Namibian political establishment.
That disruption brought parliament to a halt, earned Swartbooi and Seibeb lengthy bans, and made the purveyors of respectability politics feverishly clutching their pearls.
That Geingob welcomed the disruptors-in-chief into State House is a noble gesture. It’s also big of the LPM to show seriousness and honour the engagement in their own way.
The LPM went to State House with a 20-page dossier, complete with proposals on land redistribution, resettlement policy, how to utilise the Neckartal Dam, and ways of rescuing the economy.
‘Building a Capable State Post Covid-19’, suggests government must take bold decisions to rescue the most vulnerable from starvation, disease, loss of income and potential deaths caused by Covid-19.
Many others have gone to State House, only to complain to Geingob about cars and petty administrative issues.
Others have pleaded for years to be invited and be part of Geingob’s much vaunted consultation process. The fact that two entities from opposite ends of the political spectrum can sit around a table for the good of Namibia is commendable.
This bodes well for a year that started off as the previous one ended… filled with uncertainty, and with growing uphorrence for those in power. There’s growing frustration at the ruling class for failing to solve the problems of just 2.5 million people.
Geingob obviously realises the value of disruption and the power of engagement with those who don’t share your views of the world.
It’s heartwarming to see that Namibians can put their petty differences aside for the benefit of Namibia. This should not be a one off or an attempt to placate the fiery opposition into compliant yes men. Engaging Namibians from all hue should not be for the photo opportunity only. The viable ideas and suggestions that would take Namibia forward should be adopted.
To borrow that phrase from the last national election, “Namibia is all we have…” We should drop the egos and work together towards solutions.