18 months under President Pohamba

TODAY, August 18, marks not only President Hifikepunye Pohamba’s 71st birthday, but his 18th month in power.

Since he took over from Founding President Sam Nujoma in March 2005, a different leadership style has become noticeable. Critics saw Pohamba, who was handpicked by Nujoma as successor, as his stooge and underestimated him, but his different style as Head of State has won him respect.Pohamba’s open, friendly nature is a contrast to the often haughty and stern-faced Nujoma who displayed an autocratic style towards the end of his 15-year rule.His strong stance against corruption and the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) sent positive signals and his approach of consulting with stakeholders rather than taking unilateral decisions is well received.”I believe in collective leadership,” Pohamba said shortly after he became President and he lives up to that.”Namibia has a small population of some 1,9 million people, that is manageable,” Pohamba repeats like a mantra and his emphasis on inner stability, peace and harmony that should continue to prevail, runs like a red thread through his speeches.MAKING AN IMPRINT At the Cabinet retreat in December 2005, to which the private business sector and non-governmental organisations were invited to participate in mapping out the way forward, Pohamba said: “We can achieve growth and development if we all work together through a public-private partnership.””President Pohamba is making an imprint as a president of the centre,” says Professor André du Pisani, a political lecturer at the University of Namibia.”Pohamba has emerged as a capable leader who follows the approach of collective decision-making and he is not iconic,” Du Pisani told The Namibian.Pohamba meets with opposition parties represented in Parliament and even took CoD President Ben Ulenga, leader of the official opposition, along for an official visit to Mozambique last year, when that country celebrated its national day.Pohamba made another new move when he met with all permanent secretaries last year shortly after he was sworn in as Head of State.Next on the list were the managers of all State-owned enterprises.Journalists were invited to both occasions.In his inaugural speech last year, President Pohamba said he would put emphasis on rural development and poverty eradication and he came out strongly when promising to root out corruption.State-owned enterprises, which over the years have often made headlines for wasting funds or needing millions from State coffers to bail them out, will now be under more supervision through new legislation passed recently in the National Assembly.The Presidential Economic Advisory Council, inherited from the Nujoma era, was completely changed and restructured recently with a cross-section of the country’s top economic and financial experts invited to serve on it.Special economic development zones will be established in rural areas.”There are signs that the new Government under President Pohamba is serious about tackling corruption and cutting waste,” says local economic analyst Robin Sherbourne.”There are some signs that the emphasis of spending is shifting towards priorities and reducing poverty”, he noted in his analysis of this year’s Budget published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).But unemployment is still high at 35 per cent and thousands of young school leavers cannot find jobs; the economy is not in high gear.RECONCILIATION AND CONSTRAINTS “One cannot achieve fast changes in 18 months only,” says André du Pisani.”The right moves were made, and we must now let them take root.”Pohamba also displayed his desire for reconciliation with white Afrikaans-speaking citizens when he accepted their invitation to attend a service of the Dutch Reformed Church a few months after he became President.His predecessor, Sam Nujoma, never accepted their invitation.According to opposition leader Ben Ulenga, President of the Congress of Democrats (CoD), Pohamba’s leadership style is “very different and reconciliatory”.”There are sectors of our society who now feel more at home in their own home country,” Ulenga told The Namibian.”But many Namibians, not only the opposition parties, expect more action from our new President following the high expectations he created by his strong words against corruption.Pohamba should have sacked Safety and Security Minister Peter Tsheehama-Tshirumbu last year after Lazarus Kandara, a key witness in the Avid Investments scandal, allegedly shot himself,” Ulenga criticised.”As minister he was ultimately responsible for the life and safety of this important witness.”Some critics would also have wanted to see Pohamba engage more independently on the political front to distinguish himself from Nujoma, who remains president of the ruling Swapo Party until 2007.”Nujoma should have made a clean cut and retire from his party post as well, leaving the party presidency for Pohamba.This dual presidency is not good,” says Phil ya Nangoloh, Executive Director of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR).Ya Nangoloh sees Pohamba “in a straightjacket, who must act very carefully, because former President Nujoma is still in control”.”Namibia actually now has two presidents and it remains to be seen if Nujoma will let go of his position as Swapo president next year at the party congress,” Ya Nangoloh told this newspaper.Henning Melber, a political analyst who is now attached to the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala, Sweden, said a lot depended on how “wisely” Nujoma would act to allow Pohamba make his political mark as Head of State.”The extent to which President Pohamba will be able to exercise his authority independently, and to what extent Sam Nujoma will continue to exercise power indirectly, constitutes the key issue within contemporary Namibian politics,” Melber wrote as co-author of the book ‘Legacies of Power – Leadership Change and former Presidents in African Politics’, which was published earlier this year.The book was co-sponsored by the Nelson Mandela Foundation.STEPPING OUT OF THE SHADOWS However, the resignation last year of Paulus Kapia, former Swapo Party Youth League stalwart and Deputy Minister of Works, Transport and Communication for barely six months, following his alleged connection to the N$30 million Avid Investment scandal, was seen as pressure from Pohamba as Head of State.According to insiders, Pohamba apparently asked Kapia to resign, otherwise there was no choice but to sack him as Deputy Minister.This month Pohamba clearly showed that he is stepping out of the shadow of his predecessor when he appointed former Deputy Foreign Minister Kaire Mbuende as ambassador to the United Nations.Mbuende, along with then Foreign Mister Hidipo Hamutenya, was suddenly dismissed by Nujoma in May 2004.The first crisis Pohamba had to weather was that of disgruntled shebeen owners who beleaguered the Parliament buildings two months ago during a peaceful protest.Red tape, delays within the Ministry of Trade and Industry over the past six years and cumbersome registration processes for small liquor outlets caused by the Liquor Act of 1998, which brought major changes and liberalisation in the trade of alcohol, culminated in general frustration among shebeen owners.Despite Government’s consultations held with their umbrella organisation, Nasa, since the start of this year, they opted to protest and called on Pohamba to put a temporary moratorium on the liquor law and have those outlets reopened that were closed by Police.It is still unknown who gave the Police the orders.While President Pohamba held wide-ranging talks with representatives of the shebeen owners during their protest, many started to blame him for preventing them from earning a living by selling alcohol.Dirty politics? Maybe, according to party insiders.The rift between the Nujoma loyalists and Pohamba supporters is widening, political observers say.Others predict it could become as wide as the Fish River Canyon by August 2007, the watershed Swapo congress.Will Nujoma step down as party president after 46 years and let Pohamba take over as leader of the ruling party? And who will be the next presidential understudy once Pohamba steps down? Will Pohamba run for a second term or does he step down after five years in 2009? The surprise element of the 18 months of Pohamba at State House is the envisaged legislation for a referendum, which Pohamba unexpectedly announced early this month at the birthday bash of Dr Hage Geingob, the country’s first Prime Minister, who Nujoma demoted to a ministerial post four years ago.Geingob did not want to accept the ministerial post and resigned.Pohamba wants to sign the Referendum Law by the end of 2008, a year before the next elections.Some claim that Swapo wants to change the Constitution to do away with the position of Prime Minister in favour of a Vice President.”This will secure the succession issue at Government level,” others observe, which would make a referendum necessary.The election laws will also be changed.Pohamba might yet go down in Namibian history as a reformer, which very few septuagenarians can claim.Critics saw Pohamba, who was handpicked by Nujoma as successor, as his stooge and underestimated him, but his different style as Head of State has won him respect.Pohamba’s open, friendly nature is a contrast to the often haughty and stern-faced Nujoma who displayed an autocratic style towards the end of his 15-year rule.His strong stance against corruption and the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) sent positive signals and his approach of consulting with stakeholders rather than taking unilateral decisions is well received.”I believe in collective leadership,” Pohamba said shortly after he became President and he lives up to that.”Namibia has a small population of some 1,9 million people, that is manageable,” Pohamba repeats like a mantra and his emphasis on inner stability, peace and harmony that should continue to prevail, runs like a red thread through his speeches.MAKING AN IMPRINT At the Cabinet retreat in December 2005, to which the private business sector and non-governmental organisations were invited to participate in mapping out the way forward, Pohamba said: “We can achieve growth and development if we all work together through a public-private partnership.””President Pohamba is making an imprint as a president of the centre,” says Professor André du Pisani, a political lecturer at the University of Namibia.”Pohamba has emerged as a capable leader who follows the approach of collective decision-making and he is not iconic,” Du Pisani told The Namibian.Pohamba meets with opposition parties represented in Parliament and even took CoD President Ben Ulenga, leader of the official opposition, along for an official visit to Mozambique last year, when that country celebrated its national day.Pohamba made another new move when he met with all permanent secretaries last year shortly after he was sworn in as Head of State.Next on the list were the managers of all State-owned enterprises.Journalists were invited to both occasions.In his inaugural speech last year, President Pohamba said he would put emphasis on rural development and poverty eradication and he came out strongly when promising to root out corruption.State-owned enterprises, which over the years have often made headlines for wasting funds or needing millions from State coffers to bail them out, will now be under more supervision through new legislation passed recently in the National Assembly.The Presidential Economic Advisory Council, inherited from the Nujoma era, was completely changed and restructured recently with a cross-section of the country’s top economic and financial experts invited to serve on it.Special economic development zones will be established in rural areas.”There are signs that the new Government under President Pohamba is serious about tackling corruption and cutting waste,” says local economic analyst Robin Sherbourne.”There are some signs that the emphasis of spending is shifting towards priorities and reducing poverty”, he noted in his analysis of this year’s Budget published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).But unemployment is still high at 35 per cent and thousands of young school leavers cannot find jobs; the economy is not in high gear.RECONCILIATION AND CONSTRAINTS “One cannot achieve fast changes in 18 months only,” says André du Pisani.”The right moves were made, and we must now let them take root.”Pohamba also displayed his desire for reconciliation with white Afrikaans-speaking citizens when he accepted their invitation to attend a service of the Dutch Reformed Church a few months after he became President.His predecessor, Sam Nujoma, never accepted their invitation.According to opposition leader Ben Ulenga, President of the Congress of Democrats (CoD), Pohamba’s leadership style is “very different and reconciliatory”.”There are sectors of our society who now feel more at home in their own home country,” Ulenga told The Namibian.”But many Namibians, not only the opposition parties, expect more action from our new President following the high expectations he created by his strong words against corruption.Pohamba should have sacked Safety and Security Minister Peter Tsheehama-Tshirumbu last year after Lazarus Kandara, a key witness in the Avid Investments scandal, allegedly shot himself,” Ulenga criticised.”As minister he was ultimately responsible for the life and safety of this important witness.”Some critics would also have wanted to see Pohamba engage more independently on the political front to distinguish himself from Nujoma, who remains president of the ruling Swapo Party until 2007.”Nujoma should have made a clean cut and retire from his party post as well, leaving the party presidency for Pohamba.This dual presidency is not good,” says Phil ya Nangoloh, Executive Director of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR).Ya Nangoloh sees Pohamba “in a straightjacket, who must act very carefully, because former President Nujoma is still in control”.”Namibia actually now has two presidents and it remains to be seen if Nujoma will let go of his position as Swapo president next year at the party congress,” Ya Nangoloh told this newspaper.Henning Melber, a political analyst who is now attached to the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala, Sweden, said a lot depended on how “wisely” Nujoma would act to allow Pohamba make his political mark as Head of State.”The extent to which President Pohamba will be able to exercise his authority independently, and to what extent Sam Nujoma will continue to exercise power indirectly, constitutes the key issue within contemporary Namibian politics,” Melber wrote as co-author of the book ‘Legacies of Power – Leadership Change and former Presidents in African Politics’, which was published earlier this year.The book was co-sponsored by the Nelson Mandela Foundation.STEPPING OUT OF THE SHADOWS However, the resignation last year of Paulus Kapia, former Swapo Party Youth League stalwart and Deputy Minister of Works, Transport and Communication for barely six months, following his alleged connection to the N$30 million Avid Investment scandal, was seen as pressure from Pohamba as Head of State.According to insiders, Pohamba apparently asked Kapia to resign, otherwise there was no choice but to sack him as Deputy Minister.This month Pohamba clearly showed that he is stepping out of the shadow of his predecessor when he appointed former Deputy Foreign Minister Kaire Mbuende as ambassador to the United Nations.Mbuende, along with then Foreign Mister Hidipo Hamutenya, was suddenly dismissed by Nujoma in May 2004.The first crisis Pohamba had to weather was that of disgruntled shebeen owners who beleaguered the Parliament buildings two months ago during a peaceful protest.Red tape, delays within the Ministry of Trade and Industry over the past six years and cumbersome registration processes for small liquor outlets caused by the Liquor Act of 1998, which brought major changes and liberalisation in the trade of alcohol, culminated in general frustration among shebeen owners.Despite Government’s consultations held with their umbrella organisation, Nasa, since the start of this year, they opted to protest and called on Pohamba to put a temporary moratorium on the liquor law and have those outlets reopened that were closed by Police.It is still unknown who gave the Police the orders.While President Pohamba held wide-ranging talks with representatives of the shebeen owners during their protest, many started to blame him for preventing them from earning a living by selling alcohol.Dirty politics? Maybe, according to party insiders.The rift between the Nujoma loyalists and Pohamba supporters is widening, political observers say.Others predict it could become as wide as the Fish River Canyon by August 2007, the watershed Swapo congress.Will Nujoma step down as party president after 46 years and let Pohamba take over as leader of the ruling party? And who will be the next presidential understudy once Pohamba steps down? Will Pohamba run for a second term or does he step down after five years in 2009? The surprise element of the 18 months of Pohamba at State House is the envisaged legislation for a referendum, which Pohamba unexpectedly announced early this month at the birthday bash of Dr Hage Geingob, the country’s first Prime Minister, who Nujoma demoted to a ministerial post four years ago.Geingob did not want to accept the ministerial post and resigned.Pohamba wants to sign the Referendum Law by the end of 2008, a year before the next elections.Some claim that Swapo wants to change the Constitution to do away with the position of Prime Minister in favour of a Vice President.”This will secure the succession issue at Government level,” others observe, which would make a referendum necessary.The election laws will also be changed.Pohamba might yet go down in Namibian history as a reformer, which very few septuagenarians can claim.