ONGWEDIVA – Some candidates campaigning for top positions at Swapo’s upcoming seventh elective congress are beginning to feel the pinch as they bemoan the cost of the process.

The candidates said the campaign is an expensive exercise as they are required to tour different regions at their own cost.

The first-of-its-kind internal party campaign requires candidates contesting for the top four positions to travel to all 14 regions to address delegates in those regions and share their manifestos on why they think they are suitable candidates for those positions.

Delegates vying to be part of the party’s central committee (CC) have also joined them to canvass for votes in the closed-door sessions.

“If this was properly planned, the internal campaigns could have just been done within a day or two rather than taking a whole month and a half to complete this process,” said former Cabinet minister Uahekua Herunga who is vying for the deputy secretary general position.

“Delegates could have just been brought together under one roof and the candidates will present themselves.”

Herunga complained that touring regions to reach delegates is “exhausting, time-consuming and very costly”. 

“We are funding our campaigns, using our own vehicles and paying for our accommodation and food. Our pockets are getting shallow now because this is a very expensive exercise,” he added.

Herunga who could not reveal how much he has spent so far on the campaign trail said due to the high cost of travelling the country, he has resorted to hitch-hike to some regions to save money.

“Believe me it is very expensive. Sometimes we opt for cheaper accommodation because luxury and comfort are not an option at this point,” he added.

The campaign trail has already covered Khomas, Omaheke, Erongo, and Zambezi, two Kavango regions, after which Ohangwena, Oshikoto, Oshana, and Omusati followed.

The tour moved to Kunene before they head to Otjozondjupa, //Kharas and conclude in the Hardap region before they again descend to the capital end of this month, where delegates will meet to decide the party’s leadership fate.

“The current campaign method prior to the congress is quite unique most especially to us young people in Swapo, post-independence and it actually restraints the roots of division among party members because all the cadres are meeting in one room, speaking to the same delegates to convince them on their vision,” explained another candidate vying for central committee Willem Amutenya.

Amutenya believes although the internal campaigns benefit the party in various ways, “the whole process is quite costly”.

“As a candidate, one has to be surrounded by supporters, both delegates and non-delegates to give the moral support, however, that comes at a high cost because you have to transport them from one region to another, give them food, accommodation and it is even worse for some of us who are young people contesting for CC. It requires one to have the resources and economically empowered to travel to all the 14 regions because at the beginning of every meeting we are supposed to introduce ourselves so that delegates can know us,” explained the youngest candidate to the CC.

Democracy is expensive

When approached for a comment, Swapo’s executive director Austin Samupwa said, “democracy in its own reality is expensive”.

He added that what the party is currently doing is not entirely different from the previous campaigns, the only difference is that now candidates and delegates are brought under one roof.

“Candidates to the congress have in the past been travelling to all regions to rally for their campaigns at their own cost. To my knowledge, there have never been funds availed from the party to fund campaigns. So, it is still the same. Even if it was not because of internal campaigns, they still would have travelled region to region to campaign,” Samupwa clarified.

-         ashikololo@nepc.com.na

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