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09:34Last update on: 13 Aug 2013
The Namibian
Tue 13 Aug 2013
SMS Of The Day * THIS nation is in dire need of a massive conference on housing. When we experienced a crisis in the education sector a crisis-control brain-storming conference was organised which resulted in the best deal ever for the Namibian child, nam Food For Thought * BOURGEOISIE has become a daily occupation if not the order of the day of the upper-echelons, President Hifikepunye Pohamba we urge you to revisit this unpatriotic geocentricism among your staff and the well-connected, for everybody to r Bouquets And Brickbats * COMMISSIONER of Prisons, can you please explain the strategies you use to appoint officers to certain positions? It is my observation that you are being fed with wrong information then you just promote individuals without making p SMS Of The Day * I THINK Paulus ‘The Rock’ Ambunda lost his belt because of this promoter and trainer. How can a world champion still be training at the Katutura Youth Complex where there is not enough equipment. I think they must follow the example of Ha Food For Thought * NAMIBIA Dairies are unable to match low prices of imported milk and this ultimately means the consumer will have to pay more for local milk. Look at the prices of the local chicken. All these profits are going in the pockets of a few in Bouquets And Brickbats * I AM pleased to hear that Cabinet has responded positively to the proposal of Namibia Dairies to support the industry. The restrictions which support the industry by reducing competition to ensure the survival of the industry is a SMS Of The Day * CEO’s golden handshakes. Somewhere on our statute books there must be a provision that if a board of directors suspends/dismisses a CEO without due regard to legal provision (substantive/procedural law) such board must carry the costs for Food For Thought * JACKY Asheeke was so right with her last column- why are the fathers of the dead children not being prosecuted? (Reference to the children who died in shack fires last week) Our justice system still protects men over women. In this cont Bouquets And Brickbats * ALEXACTUS Kaure, your column in Friday’s newspaper opened my eyes. One hardly finds impartial case study analysers in Namibia. Let’s not destroy the Polytechnic’s strong foundation (Tjivikua) as yet. At least wait until the transf SMS Of The Day * WHY doesn’t NBC listen when they are criticised? The little red chairs on Good Morning Namibia have done their part and are dirty especially at the arm rests. Please listen for once. You interview professionals and internationals on those Food For Thought * MINISTRY of Education, in order to address the shortages of teachers at primary schools why don’t you consider employing us who hold a diploma in lifelong learning and community education for teaching posts? We also did health education Bouquets And Brickbats * MY fellow Namibians, I am not a Swapo member but a third term for President Hifikepuye Pohamba will be a step closer towards attainment of Vision 2030. Believe me His Excellency has made crucial bold decisions, and I don’t regret
POLL
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Results so far:
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NEWS - AFRICA
| 2013-07-30
Succession battle looms in Zanu-PF
President Robert Mugabe
HARARE – A victory for Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe’s presidential elections this week would raise the prospect of him ruling well into his 90s, enflaming a succession battle that already quietly rages.
You don’t rule a country - especially one as volatile as Zimbabwe - for 33 years without knowing a thing or two about seeing off rivals.
Since taking up the reins of a newly independent Zimbabwe in 1980, Mugabe has for three decades deftly brushed aside opponents and, with power consolidated, kept subordinates in their place.
He started with Joshua Nkomo, a man many considered to be the father of the modern nation.
Mugabe’s Zanu and Nkomo’s Zapu kicked out the white-minority government after a long bush war. A brief co-habitation followed.
But ultimately it was Nkomo who fled the country, accused - with the aid of some suspect intelligence operations - of plotting a coup.
His supporters in Matabeleland were brutally crushed by North Korean trained forces, in a operation that killed around 20 000 people and become known as Gukurahundi - the early rain that washes away the chaff. Since then a series of elections saw Mugabe retain power by hook or crook, repeatedly seeing off Morgan Tsvangirai, who he will again face tomorrow.
Again critics doubt the vote will be free and fair, and few doubt the outcome.
But perhaps the fiercest battle will take place behind the scenes.
Throughout his rule, Mugabe has steadfastly refused to name a successor.
The lack of a clear heir has in recent years spelt jockeying within Zanu-PF between two camps, one led by Vice President Joice Mujuru and the other by hardline Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.
After losing the first round of the 2008 elections, there were reports that Mugabe was prepared to accept defeat, but was pushed by allies in the security forces to hang on.
It was the military that reportedly led the violent campaign in the lead up to the run-off election which Tsvangirai boycotted following the killing of some 200 of his supporters.
Wrapping up his election campaign on Sunday, Mugabe showed no sign of changing tack, claiming he would have the energy to run in 2018.
His failure to pick and groom a successor “means he cannot trust anyone in Zanu-PF”, according to Shakespeare Hamauswa of the University of Zimbabwe.
As a result, if he is handed back power on Wednesday he is likely continue to recycle the stalwarts who have served him for decades and a playbook that has served him throughout his political life.
Born on 21 February 1924, at a Jesuit mission northwest of the capital Harare, Mugabe was described as a studious child. He qualified as a teacher at the age of 17.
He took his first steps in politics while studying at Fort Hare University in South Africa, where he met many of southern Africa’s future black nationalist leaders.
He taught in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and later in Ghana - where he was profoundly influenced by the country’s founder president Kwame Nkrumah. It was also there where he met his first wife Sally.
As a member of various nationalist parties which were banned by the white-minority government, Mugabe was detained in 1964 and spent the next 10 years in prison camps or jail.
But he used his incarceration to gather three degrees, including a law degree from London, via correspondence. - Nampa-Sapa
Since taking up the reins of a newly independent Zimbabwe in 1980, Mugabe has for three decades deftly brushed aside opponents and, with power consolidated, kept subordinates in their place.
He started with Joshua Nkomo, a man many considered to be the father of the modern nation.
Mugabe’s Zanu and Nkomo’s Zapu kicked out the white-minority government after a long bush war. A brief co-habitation followed.
But ultimately it was Nkomo who fled the country, accused - with the aid of some suspect intelligence operations - of plotting a coup.
His supporters in Matabeleland were brutally crushed by North Korean trained forces, in a operation that killed around 20 000 people and become known as Gukurahundi - the early rain that washes away the chaff. Since then a series of elections saw Mugabe retain power by hook or crook, repeatedly seeing off Morgan Tsvangirai, who he will again face tomorrow.
Again critics doubt the vote will be free and fair, and few doubt the outcome.
But perhaps the fiercest battle will take place behind the scenes.
Throughout his rule, Mugabe has steadfastly refused to name a successor.
The lack of a clear heir has in recent years spelt jockeying within Zanu-PF between two camps, one led by Vice President Joice Mujuru and the other by hardline Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.
After losing the first round of the 2008 elections, there were reports that Mugabe was prepared to accept defeat, but was pushed by allies in the security forces to hang on.
It was the military that reportedly led the violent campaign in the lead up to the run-off election which Tsvangirai boycotted following the killing of some 200 of his supporters.
Wrapping up his election campaign on Sunday, Mugabe showed no sign of changing tack, claiming he would have the energy to run in 2018.
His failure to pick and groom a successor “means he cannot trust anyone in Zanu-PF”, according to Shakespeare Hamauswa of the University of Zimbabwe.
As a result, if he is handed back power on Wednesday he is likely continue to recycle the stalwarts who have served him for decades and a playbook that has served him throughout his political life.
Born on 21 February 1924, at a Jesuit mission northwest of the capital Harare, Mugabe was described as a studious child. He qualified as a teacher at the age of 17.
He took his first steps in politics while studying at Fort Hare University in South Africa, where he met many of southern Africa’s future black nationalist leaders.
He taught in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and later in Ghana - where he was profoundly influenced by the country’s founder president Kwame Nkrumah. It was also there where he met his first wife Sally.
As a member of various nationalist parties which were banned by the white-minority government, Mugabe was detained in 1964 and spent the next 10 years in prison camps or jail.
But he used his incarceration to gather three degrees, including a law degree from London, via correspondence. - Nampa-Sapa
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