KEETMANSHOOP – Swapo //Kharas regional coordinator Matheus Mumbala has warned Swapo members who sympasised with the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) during the formation of the party that started out as a pressure group before its transformation, to show where their true alliance lies.
Speaking at the regional executive committee meeting at Keetmanshoop on Saturday, Mumbala said that some Swapo members had sympasised with the LPM because of what he characterised as the movement’s “deceitful tactics,” as it pretended to be a movement that was concerned about the land situation in Namibia, which led to some members supporting the movement as they believed they were genuine in their quest to solve the land question, but this has, according to him, been confirmed as a lie as LPM started a process to register as a political party.
Mumbala thus called on all members who might have been “tricked” to sympasise with LPM by using the land issue, to take a stand and show where they really belong, saying members cannot have the best of both worlds anymore.
“As head of the party in the region it is just fair to call on those comrades who were sharing the same solidarity and sympathising with LPM to pronounce themselves as to where they belong. I do not want to crucify anybody but some of these movements were formed under the pretence of addressing the land question, which I believe all of us need,” he said.
He said it is one thing to sympathise with a movement but another to be associated with another political party, and therefore members must quickly pronounce themselves as to which party they belong, so that they can be treated as such.
“Therefore if there are still comrades who share the same sentiments with them, it is their democratic right, however our constitution does not allow members to have dual membership, and we as leaders must be clear on our position with the party so that we treat them as our comrades or opposition party members – they should not let us guess their membership,” he warned.
Mumbala also called on the rank and file of the ruling party to rededicate themselves to the work of the party to ensure that Swapo continues its dominance in the region, especially now that new political parties have come up.
“I would like to note that //Kharas Region is vast and it requires a committed and dedicated team that will be able to assist and mobilise human and financial resources in order to increase the party membership and maintain Swapo dominance in all the seven districts and nine local authorities,” he said.
He noted that for the past six weeks the party has moved in the right direction, as a result of team work and collective decisions through collective leadership of both the regional leaders and national leaders assigned to the region, and he therefore called on the new leaders assigned to commit themselves to party affairs in the region.
He further said that the region had a good relationship with the national leaders assigned to the region, under the leadership of former home affairs minister Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, and no meetings or rallies were cancelled because national leaders could not attend, and thus it is his wish that such a good working relationship continues with the new leaders.