Engaging Hage Geingob: Is He Ready For His Close-Up?
By: Alexactus T Kaure
THE question that was being asked prior to the historic Swapo congress last year was: why not Hage?
I ask: why Hage? The first question implies that Geingob is the right man to be the next President of Namibia, if the electorate so decides which is basically a foregone conclusion given the dynamics of Namibian politics based as they are on demographic rather than democratic majority.
The typical rejoinder one gets is that Hage is a good administrator and he is that. The other implication is that he comes from a different tribe than his two predecessors. This is all fine. But the ‘why Hage’ question that I’m posing here is whether he is a leader? Can he lead this country and to where? Can he take decisive, radical and unpopular decisions but which are good for the country and society?
Like so many of our politicians, I’m not quite sure what Hage’s ideological disposition is – if any. From 1990 to 2002, before his unexpected demotion, Hage, given his education and broad knowledge, had the enviable opportunity to advise and assist then President Sam Nujoma but I didn’t see this happening, for if it had the country wouldn’t have taken the slippery route that we are traversing today.
If anything, Hage, like many of his colleagues, became just another cheerleader. I remember at one point Hage saying that if President Pohamba didn’t support the BIG idea then he in turn would not support it; thus hiding behind what is called ‘collective responsibility’. Yet that was not a Cabinet decision but Pohamba’s own stance on the matter.
That’s why in this country one hardly sees a minister holding a different viewpoint on a major public policy issue. The only occasion when Hage differed with the administration was when he disputed the unemployment statistics compiled by the Ministry of Labour.
The unemployment statistic was pegged at 51.2 percent at that time but Hage said it was much lower and in that sense played down the severity of the problem. But Hage is not alone on that. The economist Martin Mwinga, using desk studies, has put the unemployment rate at 25 percent which must have sounded like music to Hage’s ears.
But Hage is now back in that hot seat and must come to terms with the myriad of problems that confront this country. And the problems are many. Thus instead of concentrating on rearranging his office furniture in line with his flamboyant lifestyle, he must make sure that the man he is likely to replace steps down on a high note.
Coming from hell (I say ‘hell’ here because when he was demoted from his position as PM he actually just ‘ran away’, ending up leading an international NGO with not many possibilities for globe-trotting unlike in government) to reclaim his former position as prime minister, Hage said his intentions were to clean up and rebuild the country’s ailing civil service so that the public could regain trust in its service delivery. One might ask: wasn’t the seed of civil service decline planted during his reign by celebrating mediocrity in terms of recruitment into the civil service? Or did this happen during the terms of his two successors and now predecessors?
The ‘new’ PM also touches on something very important – image. Image is important in politics and more so for public office bearers. He is urging the ministers to respect themselves because they are responsible for the image of the country. I don’t know exactly what he had in mind here but there are a number of issues that have left our ministers and other high-ranking officials wanting.
One example that has been troubling me is when some of our leaders grab and fence off land in communal areas while the Communal Land Act of 2002 is clear on that issue. Then you have this laughable issue about the miniskirts. They are simply trampling on the rights of women.
My other concern is the use of state resources by ministers for either party or personal political purposes. And Hage took that practice to its logical conclusion when he ‘rented/hired’ the presidential jet to campaign for the vice-presidency of Swapo. We were told that he paid for that. It would, however, be interesting to know much he paid for it as it must have been a lot of money.
But then again Hage is not a man of lesser means (remember that N$180 000 birthday party?). Unlike some of his colleagues, Hage has been working uninterruptedly for many years, before and after independence, and in different capacities. He has also been making money through his consultancy company – HG Consultancy. Recently he is said to have “pocketed” a cool but controversial US$300 000 for facilitating a deal between UraMin/Areva and our government. The question is: will he be doing this kind of consultancy work as a PM or president?