Change Of The Guard

By: Political Perspective

THE time is nearing for an historic moment in Namibia's history namely, the transition to the change in Presidency.

Rumour is rife, obviously, as curiosity mounts as to whether the

soon-to-be-announced Cabinet will contain some surprises, or

whether continuity will rule the day.

Whatever the case, it is certain that some very deep discussion,

possibly even dissent, is taking place between the outgoing and

incoming Presidents, Sam Nujoma and Hifikepunye Pohamba.

 

Everyone seems to have belatedly woken up to 15th anniversary

Independence celebrations which will of course coincide with this

historic handover, and there is sudden activity at different levels

to get planning on course.

 

One of the reasons why people seem to have been taken by

surprise this year is of course because the preoccupation has

largely been with the change from the old to the new, and

speculation as to whether Pohamba will bring about surprise changes

immediately, or bide his time, and so Independence was somewhat

sidelined because of this.

 

While Pohamba himself is the central theme of discussions, he is

by no means the only topic.

 

Former Prime Minister Hage Geingob has returned from the US and

it is widely accepted that he's come back to be a key player in the

new dispensation.

 

Quite where he will be deployed, of course, is not known at

present, but talk has indicated this will be either in the capacity

of the as-yet-not-created post of vice president and/or as minister

in the office of the President.

 

It is generally accepted that he would not accept his old job

back, even if he were offered this, since he would lose face to be

booted and then later reinstated in this post.

 

So he's bound to hold out for something slightly more

weighty.

 

Lest it be forgotten, he was the President's first choice, way

back when Nujoma put Geingob's name forward only to be defeated in

his goal when he faced widespread opposition from the Swapo

Congress.

 

So it is commonly accepted that when Pohamba bows out as

President in the future, Geingob will be waiting in the wings to

take his place! Geingob's future role is of course not the only

other topic of discussion.

 

All the Ministers are being scrutinised, while people speculate

as to who's in and who's out of the new Cabinet.

 

Talk is that there may not necessarily be unanimity between

Presidents old and new on this subject, but I'm certain that at the

end of the day, considerations of continuity and stability will be

key to the final selection.

 

Particularly in view of the fact that the Pohamba presidency was

widely regarded as the one way in which to ensure that the status

quo remains as unruffled as possible with the changeover.

 

We are all, of course, hearing the gossip about key posts for

people such as Uutoni Nujoma and others but that's not to say that

this will happen, and in addition, would send the wrong signals if

it did.

 

What is clear, however, is that whoever gets whatever, loyalty

to the Party and in particular, to the outgoing President himself,

especially in past months where lines were demarcated in the

divisions resulting from the race for Presidency, will be

rewarded.

 

So while there's talk of Pohamba wanting rapprochement in an

attempt to heal old and new wounds and to rally support to his

side, it is doubtful that we will see any of the people Nujoma

dispensed with (the former Foreign Affairs Minister among others)

being taken up by Pohamba in his new Cabinet.

 

Again, the changes won't simply involve Cabinet.

 

There's staff in State House itself who are likely to either

leave with the outgoing President as part of his retirement

package, or be shifted elsewhere.

 

Even though Pohamba may not get his way on the ultimate choice

of the Cabinet he wants, he will definitely want his personally

selected security personnel and staff.

 

But it is now a matter of weeks before all becomes clear and

public curiosity is satisfied.

 

Finally, I believe people are looking to the new Cabinet in an

attempt to establish what many people are speculating about,

namely, whether the soon-to-be President will be his own man from

the outset, or whether outgoing President Nujoma will continue to

govern by remote control., We haven't got long to wait to find

out.

 

Whatever the case, it is certain that some very deep discussion,

possibly even dissent, is taking place between the outgoing and

incoming Presidents, Sam Nujoma and Hifikepunye Pohamba.Everyone

seems to have belatedly woken up to 15th anniversary Independence

celebrations which will of course coincide with this historic

handover, and there is sudden activity at different levels to get

planning on course.One of the reasons why people seem to have been

taken by surprise this year is of course because the preoccupation

has largely been with the change from the old to the new, and

speculation as to whether Pohamba will bring about surprise changes

immediately, or bide his time, and so Independence was somewhat

sidelined because of this.While Pohamba himself is the central

theme of discussions, he is by no means the only topic.Former Prime

Minister Hage Geingob has returned from the US and it is widely

accepted that he's come back to be a key player in the new

dispensation.Quite where he will be deployed, of course, is not

known at present, but talk has indicated this will be either in the

capacity of the as-yet-not-created post of vice president and/or as

minister in the office of the President.It is generally accepted

that he would not accept his old job back, even if he were offered

this, since he would lose face to be booted and then later

reinstated in this post.So he's bound to hold out for something

slightly more weighty.Lest it be forgotten, he was the President's

first choice, way back when Nujoma put Geingob's name forward only

to be defeated in his goal when he faced widespread opposition from

the Swapo Congress.So it is commonly accepted that when Pohamba

bows out as President in the future, Geingob will be waiting in the

wings to take his place! Geingob's future role is of course not the

only other topic of discussion.All the Ministers are being

scrutinised, while people speculate as to who's in and who's out of

the new Cabinet.Talk is that there may not necessarily be unanimity

between Presidents old and new on this subject, but I'm certain

that at the end of the day, considerations of continuity and

stability will be key to the final selection.Particularly in view

of the fact that the Pohamba presidency was widely regarded as the

one way in which to ensure that the status quo remains as unruffled

as possible with the changeover.We are all, of course, hearing the

gossip about key posts for people such as Uutoni Nujoma and others

but that's not to say that this will happen, and in addition, would

send the wrong signals if it did.What is clear, however, is that

whoever gets whatever, loyalty to the Party and in particular, to

the outgoing President himself, especially in past months where

lines were demarcated in the divisions resulting from the race for

Presidency, will be rewarded.So while there's talk of Pohamba

wanting rapprochement in an attempt to heal old and new wounds and

to rally support to his side, it is doubtful that we will see any

of the people Nujoma dispensed with (the former Foreign Affairs

Minister among others) being taken up by Pohamba in his new

Cabinet.Again, the changes won't simply involve Cabinet.There's

staff in State House itself who are likely to either leave with the

outgoing President as part of his retirement package, or be shifted

elsewhere.Even though Pohamba may not get his way on the ultimate

choice of the Cabinet he wants, he will definitely want his

personally selected security personnel and staff.But it is now a

matter of weeks before all becomes clear and public curiosity is

satisfied.Finally, I believe people are looking to the new Cabinet

in an attempt to establish what many people are speculating about,

namely, whether the soon-to-be President will be his own man from

the outset, or whether outgoing President Nujoma will continue to

govern by remote control., We haven't got long to wait to find out.

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