Political Perspective

IT IS gratifying that the Swapo leadership has finally acknowledged responsibility for the mess in which the Party found itself following a nasty campaign fuelled, purely and simply, by the hierarchy itself.

It is also very positive that leaders are making the right noises

at this very crucial transitional time in our history, and

hopefully this will be the start of inner-party reconciliation,

which is so direly needed right now.

MORE importantly, one hopes that lessons have been learned in

our evolution to true democracy, the essence of which is that it is

absolutely fine to differ, but that it is unacceptable to exact

retribution and punitive measures when people do just that:

exercise their right to free choice.

 

Because of the nastiness of the campaign that succeeded the

three-cornered Swapo presidential contest between candidates

Hifikepunye Pohamba, Hidipo Hamutenya and Nahas Angula, many people

had to pay the price if their affiliation was considered to be

'wrong' because the President had made his choice of candidate

absolutely clear.

 

Everyone was supposed to be obedient and follow suit.

 

But those days are gone, both within Swapo and the country as a

whole.

 

People know enough about democracy now to be sufficiently aware

of their rights.

 

And it is not unpatriotic and not disloyal to dissent with the

views of the President, or anyone else for that matter.

 

I feel that the President has learned his lesson, that absolute

obedience is a thing of the past, and that people can still revere

him even if they don't necessarily share all the same views; and so

did Party membership in general.

 

More importantly, I feel the acknowledgement from the Swapo

Central Committee, voiced by the Secretary General at a press

conference yesterday, of the leadership's responsibility for its

part in the debacle and its 'apology' to those "hurt in the

process", will pave the way for a smooth transition to the new

Presidency and enable Hifikepunye Pohamba to take on the challenges

that lie ahead, for they are many.

 

It has been a big step forward for the leadership, and it is

hoped that Swapo as a whole follows suit, but at this point, it is

only the start.

 

Much needs to be done in word and deed to heal the wounds that

have been opened as a result of inner-party dissension and

witch-hunting.

 

There will always be those hardliners who will refuse to

reconcile, but hopefully they are in the minority and will be

encouraged by their peers to accept the bona fides of all Swapo

leaders and supporters.

 

It would be wrong to apportion blame now that attempts are being

made to right the wrongs of the past, but this experience also

shows that to apologise is not as difficult as it may seem, and

that this in itself goes a long way to making good for errors

committed.

 

It was not necessary for the Party to go through the turmoil in

which it has found itself over the past months but perhaps even

this has had positive consequences, since it has forced Swapo to

acknowledge that all was not as well as everybody kept on

insisting, and it will make it easier to deal with conflicts that

may again arise in the future.

 

Another positive spin-off, if indeed words are translated into

deeds, is that the climate of fear will be diminished.

 

For fear has undoubtedly been pervasive, particularly on the

part of those people who found themselves put on the wrong side of

the political fence, and who were victimised as a result.

 

If someone (whoever) does wrong, they must be made to account

for their deeds.

 

Clearly this is necessary.

 

But then the case must be proved against them, and must not

simply be fuelled by innuendo, gossip and accusations that have no

basis in fact.

 

For this is an unfair contest.

 

Swapo also has to take issue with those within its ranks who

have fanned the flames of dissent by anonymous writings, like those

of Ananias Nghifiteko, which Party leadership had failed to condemn

in the past, and therefore made themselves accomplices in the

process.

 

Perhaps this has served the purpose of being a 'cleansing'

exercise for the Party.

 

Words, sometimes harsh ones, have been spoken, but they served

the purpose of bringing matters to a head and forcing the Party

leadership to directly confront the problems facing Swapo, and this

was a good thing in itself.

 

Although it was an unfortunate chapter in the Party's history,

ultimately we must look on the bright side and accept that Swapo

could well be richer for having gone through this painful

self-scrutiny and analysis, which I believe is a good start to

democratising the ruling Party from within.

 

MORE importantly, one hopes that lessons have been learned in our

evolution to true democracy, the essence of which is that it is

absolutely fine to differ, but that it is unacceptable to exact

retribution and punitive measures when people do just that:

exercise their right to free choice.Because of the nastiness of the

campaign that succeeded the three-cornered Swapo presidential

contest between candidates Hifikepunye Pohamba, Hidipo Hamutenya

and Nahas Angula, many people had to pay the price if their

affiliation was considered to be 'wrong' because the President had

made his choice of candidate absolutely clear.Everyone was supposed

to be obedient and follow suit.But those days are gone, both within

Swapo and the country as a whole.People know enough about democracy

now to be sufficiently aware of their rights.And it is not

unpatriotic and not disloyal to dissent with the views of the

President, or anyone else for that matter.I feel that the President

has learned his lesson, that absolute obedience is a thing of the

past, and that people can still revere him even if they don't

necessarily share all the same views; and so did Party membership

in general.More importantly, I feel the acknowledgement from the

Swapo Central Committee, voiced by the Secretary General at a press

conference yesterday, of the leadership's responsibility for its

part in the debacle and its 'apology' to those "hurt in the

process", will pave the way for a smooth transition to the new

Presidency and enable Hifikepunye Pohamba to take on the challenges

that lie ahead, for they are many.It has been a big step forward

for the leadership, and it is hoped that Swapo as a whole follows

suit, but at this point, it is only the start.Much needs to be done

in word and deed to heal the wounds that have been opened as a

result of inner-party dissension and witch-hunting.There will

always be those hardliners who will refuse to reconcile, but

hopefully they are in the minority and will be encouraged by their

peers to accept the bona fides of all Swapo leaders and

supporters.It would be wrong to apportion blame now that attempts

are being made to right the wrongs of the past, but this experience

also shows that to apologise is not as difficult as it may seem,

and that this in itself goes a long way to making good for errors

committed.It was not necessary for the Party to go through the

turmoil in which it has found itself over the past months but

perhaps even this has had positive consequences, since it has

forced Swapo to acknowledge that all was not as well as everybody

kept on insisting, and it will make it easier to deal with

conflicts that may again arise in the future.Another positive

spin-off, if indeed words are translated into deeds, is that the

climate of fear will be diminished.For fear has undoubtedly been

pervasive, particularly on the part of those people who found

themselves put on the wrong side of the political fence, and who

were victimised as a result.If someone (whoever) does wrong, they

must be made to account for their deeds.Clearly this is

necessary.But then the case must be proved against them, and must

not simply be fuelled by innuendo, gossip and accusations that have

no basis in fact.For this is an unfair contest.Swapo also has to

take issue with those within its ranks who have fanned the flames

of dissent by anonymous writings, like those of Ananias Nghifiteko,

which Party leadership had failed to condemn in the past, and

therefore made themselves accomplices in the process.Perhaps this

has served the purpose of being a 'cleansing' exercise for the

Party.Words, sometimes harsh ones, have been spoken, but they

served the purpose of bringing matters to a head and forcing the

Party leadership to directly confront the problems facing Swapo,

and this was a good thing in itself.Although it was an unfortunate

chapter in the Party's history, ultimately we must look on the

bright side and accept that Swapo could well be richer for having

gone through this painful self-scrutiny and analysis, which I

believe is a good start to democratising the ruling Party from

within.

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