Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa has warned party cadres against forming slates to contest in intra-party elections in the run-up to this year’s seventh elective congress. 

“We are cognizant that due to the political architecture and nature of contestation, people always tend to form groupings,” Shaningwa said whilst addressing party leaders and staff in Windhoek yesterday. 

“However, we have learned from previous years that groupings, factions or teams shall not do us any favour. We must be able to go into such internal elections united, and also emerge more united in the name of our party.” The last congress, in 2017, left the movement deeply divided, and subsequent elections saw the once dominant party lose some of its lustre at Presidential, National Assembly as well as local and regional elections. 

In July 2020, during the closing ceremony of a three-day introspection conference in Windhoek, President Hage Geingob implored ruling party leaders to “bury” and end slate politics, which has left the movement deeply divided before and after the 2017 elective congress. In a bid to eliminate the influence of slate politics,

Geingob remarked that Team Harambee and Team Swapo should be buried for the sake of unity in the ruling party. Shaningwa yesterday said the ruling party would host its congress this year, come hell or high water.  

“We are not going to run away from this congress. It shall happen,” she assured the party’s rank and file. Later this year, Swapo will hold its intra-party elections, where candidates will battle it out for the positions of president, vice president, secretary general and deputy secretary general. 

The party is also expected to elect members to its about 87-member central committee and the political bureau. Shaningwa said planning for the national policy conference, which could not be held last year due to Covid-19, is
underway. 

She thus called on all regions to prepare themselves for the conference, where policy discussions and debates will happen and proposals to congress will be made. 

Therefore, party wings and regions are expected to hold their respective congresses beforehand. The structures of the party, such as regions and districts, are also expected to hold their mandatory conferences and extra-ordinary conferences. 

Shaningwa reminded all that elections are internal and should be carried out in a free, fair and democratic manner. 

She also lectured regional coordinators to read and understand the party’s constitution, rules and procedures to steer the party’s structures in their regions. 

According to her, each leader at the regional executive committee and district levels must have a copy of the constitution, and a copy of the rules and procedures to study them fully. 

“This will make the work easier, avoid unnecessary disputes, and stand the litmus test of the law. When disputes arise, please seek advice from the office of the secretary general timeously and in writing. This will enable the office of the secretary general to expedite the process of finding solutions to such disputes,” she advised. 

However, Shaningwa warned that unnecessary issues created for self-interest and confusion might not enjoy her attention, saying her energy should not be abused. 

“I am encouraging all of you leaders to refrain from creating unreasonable issues. We do not have time to waste. Rather, the time must be spared and spent on productivity for the benefit of our party,” the SG pleaded.

Mega building

Meanwhile, Shaningwa also appraised party leaders about the ruling party’s N$700 million headquarters in Katutura, which she said was nearing completion. She said the multi-million-dollar office cannot be turned into a hospital, contrary to rumours swirling around, as it does not meet the provisions and standards of a medical facility. 

However, she bragged that if people want a hospital, the Swapo-led government would surely build them a hospital. 

“It is not possible for us to turn it into a hospital. Surely, if the community wants a hospital, we will build them a hospital. 

We have land available. If that’s the insistence that people want a hospital, then let it be. 

We will see who Swapo will partner with. For now, we have to see that the office is completed and inaugurated.”

–anakale@nepc.com.na