Windhoek
Swanu president Usutuaije Maamberua has called for a national conference to review the laws and systems pertaining to the recognition of traditional authorities.
Speaking at a Swanu meeting this past weekend at Otjiwarongo, he said the system of recognising traditional authorities has become a very serious source of conflict and tension within traditional communities. “This is all because government has not been fair in the process, or has deliberately misinterpreted the rules of the game in order to benefit the ruling party,” he said.
There are currently 50 traditional leaders recognised by government and dozens of others seeking recognition.
He said the misuse and abuse of traditional leaders has been a practice dating back from colonial governments to the present.
“An extreme solution is to have the respective traditional authorities/leaderships recognised by their own followers,” he added.
Maamberua also called for the appointment of a fully-fledged commission that should address the issues of corruption without fear or favour.
He said the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is run by its director and his staff without being a fully constituted commission.
“What we are witnessing through corruption in Namibia is that it now permeates all levels of government, which we can refer to ‘state capture’ by the elite and the politically well-connected,” he said.
Maamberua says through corruption public resources benefit some few individuals and therefore deprive the majority of adequate socio-economic benefits and resources.
“We propose that the declaration of assets, much as it is desirable, should be followed up with lifestyle audits, which will lead to the legitimacy and legality of the sources of the assets being declared by public officials and political office-bearers.”
He also condemned the deteriorating conditions in state hospitals, which “lags far behind the standards of an upper middle-income economy”.
“We urge that the recommendations of the presidential commission on health matters be fully implemented,” stressed the outspoken Swanu leader.
Furthermore, he said, the country’s education system contributes to the high unemployment rate because it does not provide adequate skills and technical training. “Technical colleges must be introduced in all fourteen regions and technical subjects must be re-introduced in schools,” suggested Maamberua.
He furthermore complained of the delays and backlogs in the courts of law and the high litigation costs which, according to him, excludes the poor people from the justice system. He added: “The current payout system for our elderly people and vulnerable children, of servicing them in open public places, mostly under trees, makes the beneficiaries more vulnerable to robberies and attacks.
“The postal services must be increased to cover most of the places where these vulnerable groups are found across the country.”