ONGWEDIVA – An unprecedented town hall meeting that was set to take place two days before Swapo’s elective congress has been postponed to next year because of perceptions the meeting would influence the outcomes of the ruling party’s landmark event. Over the weekend, an invitation was sent by the Presidency to all regional governors to prepare regional stakeholders for a town hall meeting to be held in Windhoek on

23 November 2022. This invitation has subsequently attracted criticism, especially from party members and supporters of candidates vying for the vice presidency, questioning the timing of the meeting, while others claim the gathering is meant to advance some candidates’ campaigns and disadvantaging others.

Responding to questions, presidential spokesperson Alfredo Hengari said to avoid any ambiguity and remain above any allegations of seeking to influence outcomes at congress, the
meeting has been postponed to 2023. A Swapo leader, who asked for anonymity for fear of reprisal, told New Era the meeting was going to complicate the congress, as some candidates will have used it to advance their campaigns.

“What was the rationale for having the town hall meeting just before congress? It doesn’t really hold water, but we can see that it was going to be a campaign strategy. It is not ethical. That was corruption,” he alleged.

Political analyst Rui Tyitende also questioned the rationale of hosting the town hall meeting a few days before Swapo’s congress.

“The first town hall meetings were comprised of individuals who were not known to the Office of the President and were at times quite critical of the current socio-economic situation. The fact that the names of the attendees need to be known in advance implies that critical voices might be excluded from attending,” he reacted prior to Hengari’s statement yesterday.

“What are the chances that some of those 50 attendees to the town hall meeting are delegates to the congress and have been selected because of their political affiliation to the candidates vying for VP, SG and DSG? This entire event is choreographed, and nothing substantive will emerge from it. The political narrative has been cooked and will be served to the attendees on 23 November 2022.”

Further allegations that were circulating on social media suggested that the meeting was going to be in favour of candidates who are supported by President Hage Geingob.

Geingob has in the past stated he is not supporting nor endorsing any candidate vying for the vice presidency of the ruling party.

Hengari also refuted these claims, saying they are entirely false and without substance.

“The Presidency finds it necessary to set the record straight and re-emphasise the fact that President Hage Geingob is uncontested for the position of Swapo party president and is on record not to endorse any candidate for the positions of vice president, secretary general, and deputy secretary general of the party. This position of the President remains unchanged,” explained Hengari.

The meetings that are usually held in all 14 regions are aimed at promoting dialogue between the head of State and the masses.

Hengari stated that Geingob expressed the wish to hold a modified version of the town hall meetings in 2022, long before Swapo had agreed to hold internal primaries for the positions to be contested at the congress.

“The Harambee Prosperity Plan enjoins the President to hold town hall meetings every two years to strengthen effective governance, premised on transparency and accountability as the condition sine qua non for the trust the Namibian people have in their elected President and government. The context in which town hall meetings became a permanent feature on the calendar of President Geingob is well known,” he said.

He also added the decision to reduce the days of meetings was influenced by the cost implications of the consultations at a time when government revenues have declined significantly.

“It is for this reason that President Geingob opted for a reduced town hall meeting in Windhoek – at which regional governors would be accompanied by stakeholders and representatives from youth organisations, traditional authorities, church leaders, business leaders and veterans, including people with disability. There is no doubt about the fact that a one-day, town hall meetings are more cost efficient as opposed to the President leading the meetings in all the 14 regions of the country,” he added.

- ashikololo@nepc.com.na