Political Perspective
SWAPO Youth League Secretary Paulus Kapia is one seriously muddled fellow.
There's a strong sense of deja vu in his renewed call on SPYL
members to shun The Namibian and two other newspapers on grounds
that they are "enemies of peace and security" in Namibia because
they persist in "insulting" the President, Sam Nujoma.
That's Kapia's perception, rightly or wrongly, but he surely
cannot censor all SPYL members by demanding that they support his
viewpoint.
IN FACT, he's effectively telling them that their
constitutionally-given rights and freedoms are summarily suspended
by his personal decree not to read, among others, this
newspaper.
And although he has not specified quite what they are, he's
threatened "steps" against those who defy him.
What Kapia fails to understand about democracy is that people
are free to make their own choices.
If he's now telling SPYL members what to read and what not to
read, will this be followed by instructions on what to eat or not
to eat or what to wear for that matter? And what will he do if some
defiant Party members decide to read the newspaper? Suspend them?
In fact, his orders speak volumes about a lack of inner-party
democracy.
Quite apart from this, he's wrong on another front: because we
allot space in the newspaper for his aggressive and belligerent
rants (see report elsewhere) it does not mean that we agree with
him.
We don't.
The same applies to the report he took exception to, in which
the CoD youth secretary went for the President.
We didn't agree with the CoD official either.
The fact is that both Kapia and his CoD counterpart are
newsmakers, and we report on them without necessarily sharing their
viewpoints.
The newspaper's stance on any given issue is published in only
one place, and that is the weekly editorial (NOT this column, which
represents my own sentiments and not those of the newspaper).
In short, we don't make the news, we merely report it.
Because people elect others to power, is exactly what entitles
them to be critical of these leaders when they want to be.
The SPYL may have elected Kapia, but they're not forced to agree
with him on everything.
He wasn't given some kind of glorious, lifetime licence or
mandate to be the sole and authentic voice of the Youth League, and
woe betide anyone who crosses him! And tossing in worn-out phrases
about "imperialist" agendas just doesn't impress anyone
anymore.
If Kapia has such a hatred of all things foreign, then he and
others who share his views, must consistently apply their
principles, if one could call them such.
If we don't like "foreign" money, then don't take it.
If we don't like "foreign" experts, then don't employ them.
This newspaper is wholly Namibian, and so too are the majority
of its staff.
I once again invite him to visit The Namibian and find out for
himself.
But if he won't, then we truly don't need his ill-informed and
misguided opinions to try to say otherwise.
The facts, including our near 20-year track record, speak for
themselves, no matter what Kapia says.
And if it is a crime to have been born outside this country,
then charge me for it.
My sole citizenship is Namibian, and my birthplace South Africa,
and likewise that of my parents, for the benefit of Kapia and his
soulmate Ananias Nghifiteko, who seem to see sinister British
connections where they do not exist! While on the subject, it is
noted that Kapia and our President, who also recently had advice
and warnings for the media who "disrespect" political leadership
here and in the rest of Africa, had nothing to say about the
ongoing e-mail campaign of vilification and libel against a wide
variety of people, including senior Swapo leaders.
This in itself speaks volumes.
For the writer/s of this invective make the local media look
absolutely tame in comparison! So we must deduce from this that
they feel it's fine to be as insulting as you like, just as long as
they themselves aren't the targets! And if I say that they have
double standards when they talk about media, then it is fair
criticism, and I believe I've just proved my point.
Finally, just to show that one can be balanced in one's
judgement, perhaps Paulus Kapia can take a leaf out of the
President's book.
President Nujoma recently proved that it's never too late to
learn when he commendably announced his decision to study geology
at Unam once he retires.
Kapia of course, is still far too youthful (which is why he's
still in the Youth League!) to retire, so it's not too late for him
to take up studies, preferably in a field where he can learn more
about democracy, which may help him avoid foolish pitfalls when he
makes public statements in future.
That's Kapia's perception, rightly or wrongly, but he surely cannot
censor all SPYL members by demanding that they support his
viewpoint.IN FACT, he's effectively telling them that their
constitutionally-given rights and freedoms are summarily suspended
by his personal decree not to read, among others, this
newspaper.And although he has not specified quite what they are,
he's threatened "steps" against those who defy him.What Kapia fails
to understand about democracy is that people are free to make their
own choices.If he's now telling SPYL members what to read and what
not to read, will this be followed by instructions on what to eat
or not to eat or what to wear for that matter? And what will he do
if some defiant Party members decide to read the newspaper? Suspend
them? In fact, his orders speak volumes about a lack of inner-party
democracy.Quite apart from this, he's wrong on another front:
because we allot space in the newspaper for his aggressive and
belligerent rants (see report elsewhere) it does not mean that we
agree with him.We don't.The same applies to the report he took
exception to, in which the CoD youth secretary went for the
President.We didn't agree with the CoD official either.The fact is
that both Kapia and his CoD counterpart are newsmakers, and we
report on them without necessarily sharing their viewpoints.The
newspaper's stance on any given issue is published in only one
place, and that is the weekly editorial (NOT this column, which
represents my own sentiments and not those of the newspaper).In
short, we don't make the news, we merely report it.Because people
elect others to power, is exactly what entitles them to be critical
of these leaders when they want to be.The SPYL may have elected
Kapia, but they're not forced to agree with him on everything.He
wasn't given some kind of glorious, lifetime licence or mandate to
be the sole and authentic voice of the Youth League, and woe betide
anyone who crosses him! And tossing in worn-out phrases about
"imperialist" agendas just doesn't impress anyone anymore.If Kapia
has such a hatred of all things foreign, then he and others who
share his views, must consistently apply their principles, if one
could call them such.If we don't like "foreign" money, then don't
take it.If we don't like "foreign" experts, then don't employ
them.This newspaper is wholly Namibian, and so too are the majority
of its staff.I once again invite him to visit The Namibian and find
out for himself.But if he won't, then we truly don't need his
ill-informed and misguided opinions to try to say otherwise.The
facts, including our near 20-year track record, speak for
themselves, no matter what Kapia says.And if it is a crime to have
been born outside this country, then charge me for it.My sole
citizenship is Namibian, and my birthplace South Africa, and
likewise that of my parents, for the benefit of Kapia and his
soulmate Ananias Nghifiteko, who seem to see sinister British
connections where they do not exist! While on the subject, it is
noted that Kapia and our President, who also recently had advice
and warnings for the media who "disrespect" political leadership
here and in the rest of Africa, had nothing to say about the
ongoing e-mail campaign of vilification and libel against a wide
variety of people, including senior Swapo leaders.This in itself
speaks volumes.For the writer/s of this invective make the local
media look absolutely tame in comparison! So we must deduce from
this that they feel it's fine to be as insulting as you like, just
as long as they themselves aren't the targets! And if I say that
they have double standards when they talk about media, then it is
fair criticism, and I believe I've just proved my point.Finally,
just to show that one can be balanced in one's judgement, perhaps
Paulus Kapia can take a leaf out of the President's book.President
Nujoma recently proved that it's never too late to learn when he
commendably announced his decision to study geology at Unam once he
retires.Kapia of course, is still far too youthful (which is why
he's still in the Youth League!) to retire, so it's not too late
for him to take up studies, preferably in a field where he can
learn more about democracy, which may help him avoid foolish
pitfalls when he makes public statements in future.