More Than Unity Needed
By: Editorial CommentIT was striking this week that both incumbent President Sam Nujoma and his successor, Hifikepunye Pohamba, have made urgent calls for unity in Swapo ranks.
Speeches they made at a Political Bureau meeting this week were
handed to the press by Minister Netumbo Ndaitwah, and both men
emphasised unity as being essential to bring about change.
The mirroring of their words seems designed to try and heal the
divide that has arisen in Swapo, and was fuelled by the succession
race last year in which Pohamba emerged victorious.
In his speech, Pohamba actually called on Swapo members to
"close ranks" and observe unity at all levels of the Party.
Maintaining "unity of action and purpose at all times", would,
he argued, make the task of leading the nation to social and
economic prosperity easier.
Nujoma, in turn, emphasised that the strength of the Party had
always been "anchored in unity" - during the struggle years, as
well as the first 15 years of independence.
The same unity would be needed to implement the Party's election
manifesto and bring about socio-economic transformation, he
said.
The emphasis on unity, while good in itself, also unfortunately
underscores a need for people to be obedient and loyal, and not to
dissent in any way with the ruling party, and this sort of thinking
tends to silence the manifold voices which are so essential in a
democracy, and above all, within the ruling party.
There is little doubt that the people of this country will give
the incoming President a fair chance to prove himself, and that
Swapo too will rally behind Namibia's new head of state.
But at the same time, we trust that much-needed discussion and
debate and if necessary, dissension, will not be stifled in the
process.
SUPPORT FOR AU ON TOGO
ALTHOUGH Namibia has not pronounced itself on the coup in Togo
last week, we presume that our Government shares the African Union
(AU) condemnation of what happened.
After the death of a dictator who had ruled that country for 38
years, the army last week declared Faure Gnassingbe, son of the
late Gnassingbé Eyadema, President; and Parliament hastily
changed the constitution to permit the takeover.
The AU was quick in its condemnation and has threatened
sanctions against Togo unless it restores the status quo.
Also this week, the 15-member West African regional body,
Ecowas, said that the grouping "cannot tolerate any
unconstitutional regime change and so the situation created in Togo
cannot be accepted".
Namibia legitimised its military presence in DRC by saying it
was there to protect the government there against being
overthrown.
We presume our Government is in full support of AU and Ecowas
opposition to what is essentially a military coup, and we would
throw our support behind it to this end.
It now remains an important test for the AU to see if it can
combine Africa's muscle to ensure that constitutional democracy
takes its course in that beleaguered African nation.
The mirroring of their words seems designed to try and heal the
divide that has arisen in Swapo, and was fuelled by the succession
race last year in which Pohamba emerged victorious.In his speech,
Pohamba actually called on Swapo members to "close ranks" and
observe unity at all levels of the Party.Maintaining "unity of
action and purpose at all times", would, he argued, make the task
of leading the nation to social and economic prosperity
easier.Nujoma, in turn, emphasised that the strength of the Party
had always been "anchored in unity" - during the struggle years, as
well as the first 15 years of independence.The same unity would be
needed to implement the Party's election manifesto and bring about
socio-economic transformation, he said.The emphasis on unity, while
good in itself, also unfortunately underscores a need for people to
be obedient and loyal, and not to dissent in any way with the
ruling party, and this sort of thinking tends to silence the
manifold voices which are so essential in a democracy, and above
all, within the ruling party.There is little doubt that the people
of this country will give the incoming President a fair chance to
prove himself, and that Swapo too will rally behind Namibia's new
head of state. But at the same time, we trust that much-needed
discussion and debate and if necessary, dissension, will not be
stifled in the process.SUPPORT FOR AU ON TOGO ALTHOUGH Namibia has
not pronounced itself on the coup in Togo last week, we presume
that our Government shares the African Union (AU) condemnation of
what happened.After the death of a dictator who had ruled that
country for 38 years, the army last week declared Faure Gnassingbe,
son of the late Gnassingbé Eyadema, President; and
Parliament hastily changed the constitution to permit the
takeover.The AU was quick in its condemnation and has threatened
sanctions against Togo unless it restores the status quo.Also this
week, the 15-member West African regional body, Ecowas, said that
the grouping "cannot tolerate any unconstitutional regime change
and so the situation created in Togo cannot be accepted".Namibia
legitimised its military presence in DRC by saying it was there to
protect the government there against being overthrown.We presume
our Government is in full support of AU and Ecowas opposition to
what is essentially a military coup, and we would throw our support
behind it to this end.It now remains an important test for the AU
to see if it can combine Africa's muscle to ensure that
constitutional democracy takes its course in that beleaguered
African nation.