Political Perspective

By: GWEN LISTER

THE political goings-on are such at present that the elections are rendered almost irrelevant at this point, and none of the parties seem really fussed about them.

The pre-occupation as a whole is with the shenanigans in the

various parties with the jockeying for positions ahead of the

elections, and of course the internal rifts that have come about

for these and other reasons.

Over and above this, the President has shown that he's still

very much in charge, and if people thought to the contrary, the

events of the past weekend would leave them sadly disabused.

 

THERE have been a host of casualties in the ruling party, and

some fairly prominent names have sunk so low on the list that there

is scant hope of ever reviving them.

 

Mostly because of real or perceived connections with the former

Foreign Affairs Minister, Hidipo Hamutenya.

 

Those who survived are putting a brave face on things, saying

there's nothing sinister or untoward about what happened and that

everything went ahead according to plan over the weekend.

 

Those who didn't make it have a different viewpoint of course,

and this all takes place within the framework of a political

scenario that's absolutely fraught with more rumours and gossip

than usual, so it's getting harder to tell truth from fiction.

 

On the surface things are calm.

 

Just underneath, there is simmering discontent, not to mention

fear and apprehension, which appears to be deliberately

fuelled.

 

The President's 'top ten' list was a sight to behold, and some

of those on it are now starting to earn their nominations by

appealing for more rewards for the father of the struggle.

 

Seems they deem his generous package insufficient, and they now

want to top it up with a 'gift' of State House.

 

The list is likely to grow at the same rate as the sycophants

get named.

 

Obviously the main focus is what's been happening in the ruling

party, Swapo, concerning what may be called the 'Hamutenya

divide'.

 

Again loyalists will allege all is well, while at the same time

they've been fanning the flames of dissent by, among others, the

Nghifitikeko e-mail campaign, which most certainly enjoys the

blessing of those on high in a blatant attempt to discredit key

party stalwarts on charges of alleged corruption and all kinds of

other accusations.

 

And of course, if the truth be told, there is good and bad on

both sides of the Nujoma-Hamutenya split.

 

I for one won't weep crocodile tears at the political demise of

Kandy Nehova, for example, because it's been a long time coming;

but I wouldn't have bemoaned Paulus Kapia's omission from the

President's 'top ten' list, in the unlikely event he'd chosen not

to give this hot-head a super status! But the President has

obviously decided Kapia is destined for bigger and better things,

so be it on his own head when the chickens come home to roost one

day.

 

Then it looks like the CoD may have its casualties as well,

although I haven't managed to plumb the depths of the discontent in

this grouping thus far.

 

Nudo, too, has had its share of wrangling.

 

And perhaps totally extraneous to all this, is the actual

polling that will take place in the near future.

 

Will Swapo experience a downturn in votes as people register

their discontent at the purge that has taken place? Or will it

return to power with a further boost to its two-thirds

majority?

 

These are really the issues people are talking about, because

the outcome is largely a foregone conclusion.

 

And above all else, President Nujoma has again emerged unscathed

and more powerful than ever before.

 

The question is of course: will another win be enough for him

now or does he plan to continue against perceived enemies of the

Party until they are no more?

 

Only time will tell whether he will emerge victorious once

again, and whether those who succeed him will be left to count the

cost of his triumph.

 

Over and above this, the President has shown that he's still very

much in charge, and if people thought to the contrary, the events

of the past weekend would leave them sadly disabused.THERE have

been a host of casualties in the ruling party, and some fairly

prominent names have sunk so low on the list that there is scant

hope of ever reviving them.Mostly because of real or perceived

connections with the former Foreign Affairs Minister, Hidipo

Hamutenya.Those who survived are putting a brave face on things,

saying there's nothing sinister or untoward about what happened and

that everything went ahead according to plan over the weekend.Those

who didn't make it have a different viewpoint of course, and this

all takes place within the framework of a political scenario that's

absolutely fraught with more rumours and gossip than usual, so it's

getting harder to tell truth from fiction.On the surface things are

calm.Just underneath, there is simmering discontent, not to mention

fear and apprehension, which appears to be deliberately fuelled.The

President's 'top ten' list was a sight to behold, and some of those

on it are now starting to earn their nominations by appealing for

more rewards for the father of the struggle.Seems they deem his

generous package insufficient, and they now want to top it up with

a 'gift' of State House.The list is likely to grow at the same rate

as the sycophants get named.Obviously the main focus is what's been

happening in the ruling party, Swapo, concerning what may be called

the 'Hamutenya divide'.Again loyalists will allege all is well,

while at the same time they've been fanning the flames of dissent

by, among others, the Nghifitikeko e-mail campaign, which most

certainly enjoys the blessing of those on high in a blatant attempt

to discredit key party stalwarts on charges of alleged corruption

and all kinds of other accusations.And of course, if the truth be

told, there is good and bad on both sides of the Nujoma-Hamutenya

split.I for one won't weep crocodile tears at the political demise

of Kandy Nehova, for example, because it's been a long time coming;

but I wouldn't have bemoaned Paulus Kapia's omission from the

President's 'top ten' list, in the unlikely event he'd chosen not

to give this hot-head a super status! But the President has

obviously decided Kapia is destined for bigger and better things,

so be it on his own head when the chickens come home to roost one

day.Then it looks like the CoD may have its casualties as well,

although I haven't managed to plumb the depths of the discontent in

this grouping thus far.Nudo, too, has had its share of

wrangling.And perhaps totally extraneous to all this, is the actual

polling that will take place in the near future.Will Swapo

experience a downturn in votes as people register their discontent

at the purge that has taken place? Or will it return to power with

a further boost to its two-thirds majority?These are really the

issues people are talking about, because the outcome is largely a

foregone conclusion.And above all else, President Nujoma has again

emerged unscathed and more powerful than ever before.The question

is of course: will another win be enough for him now or does he

plan to continue against perceived enemies of the Party until they

are no more?Only time will tell whether he will emerge victorious

once again, and whether those who succeed him will be left to count

the cost of his triumph.

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