Mavara will not leave politics

By: ADAM HARTMAN

SWAPO Party Youth League (SPYL) Central Committee member and SPYL’s national leader for the Kavango Region, Wenzel Mavara, says he will not leave youth politics as was reported by the media this week.

“The truth is, I have a long way to go in youth politics,” he told The Namibian yesterday. He was responding to an article in the Namibian Sun headlined ‘Mavara quits youth politics’ as well as a Namibia Press Agency story.
The article said Mavara announced his decision to “bow out of youth politics” during last weekend’s Kavango SPYL conference.
“I never announced quitting politics. The whole SPYL in Kavango can be my witness,” he said, accusing his ‘detractors’ of being the source of the story.
“[The detractors] twisted the story to achieve their evil agenda,” he said.
What he did say at the conference, according to him, was that his term as a member of the central committee was ending, and that he was an “outgoing member”.
“That does not mean I quit youth politics. Swapo’s congress is taking place in August, and then all the members are considered outgoing unless they have been elected to continue for another five year term,” he explained.
But even if he does not remain in the central committee, he will remain a member of the youth league, and stay with Swapo, he vowed.
“I’m a Swapo member who grew up in youth politics and enjoy the support,” he said.
Mavara also said that he never joined the party for a position, and that any suggestion to the contrary were “crazy, misleading and propaganda” by the detractors.
He was not re-elected as a district leader of Rundu Urban at the recent conference.   
Nampa had quoted Mavara as saying that he will now concentrate on his education and businesses.
In that interview Mavara had denied that his decision to quit was sparked by the fact that he failed to secure a nomination from the Kavango Region to stand as a candidate for the position of SPYL deputy secretary during the party’s congress slated for the end of August this year.
Mavara told Nampa that he had secured nominations for the position from the Oshikoto, Ohangwena, Omaheke and Kunene Regions.
He had reportedly used the platform at the meeting to inform his fellow comrades that he is retiring from active politics.
Mavara was recently reported to have gone on the attack against his fellow comrades, amongst them SPYL secretary Elijah Ngurare and Rundu Town Council Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Romanus Haironga, for the alleged auctioning off of land to the wealthy, and for the cutting off of water supply to residents because of unpaid bills.
Some SPYL delegates at the conference told Nampa on condition of anonymity that Mavara’s attacks on his fellow party members is thought to be the main reason why he was not nominated to stand as a possible candidate by his own region.
The Kavango regional SPYL leadership instead nominated current SPYL secretary for economic affairs Veiccoh Nekundi, who was also an observer at the conference, to stand for the position of SPYL deputy secretary.
In an interview with Nampa, Mavara had reportedly said he will however remain a loyal member of the Swapo Party. He denied that his decision to quit politics was a result of his feeling betrayed by his region because they did not nominate him for the deputy secretary position.
He called it “pure lies” and said he decided to quit because he had done enough to serve the youth in different capacities in the region and the country in general, and now wants to give others a chance to lead the nation.

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