Parliament rejects tribalism motion

A DEBATE on tribalism and ethnicity in the National Assembly was cut short on Thursday after providing a week of heated debate.

Only after several speakers had aired their views on the motion initiated by the DTA’s McHenry Venaani, did Lands Minister Jerry Ekandjo call for it to be wiped off the table. The only DTA members in the House at the time of the vote – Venaani and Johan de Waal – were the only ones to rise in support of the motion, while MAG, the CoD and Nudo all abstained.All Swapo MPs present voted against the motion.At the start of debate, De Waal requested that the wording of the motion be changed to state that Cabinet should “ensure that tribalism and ethnicity are properly managed and to take corrective measures where necessary”.De Waal asked that the House recognise that “ethnicity and tribalism are issues of national importance that should be handled carefully and responsibly and should not be politicised”.He said the proposed amendment to the original motion was an effort to unite the House and to ensure that Namibia would never follow the path of other countries that discriminated on the basis of race and ethnicity.The CoD’s Ben Ulenga called for the youth to be more sensitised about issues of tribalism.He said it was shocking that children born in an independent Namibia were brought up with perceptions still grounded in tribalism.”We’ve got a long way to go to ensure these Namibians don’t grow up in the same way parents did,” he said.”The time must come when bodies do not reflect only the vicissitudes of the national liberation struggle, but what we want to become, and what kind of nation we want to build.”MAG’s Jurie Viljoen said he was concerned that because in the past white people were responsible for oppression in Namibia, that today all of them were accused of this.”Not all whites are criminals and capitalists and thieves of land,” he said.”The vast majority of the whites in this country are prepared to work hand in hand with Government to find a solution to the land issue.”Deputy Prime Minister Libertina Amathila said discussions on ethnicity and tribalism were a “dangerous and untenable road to pursue”.She said De Waal’s motion could not be accepted, as the Constitution outlawed ethnic and tribal discrimination.* In an article, ‘Jobs for comrades causes uproar in Parliament’, on Wednesday, July 6, the CoD’s Tsudao Gurirab was inadvertently reported as saying that he believed Government appointed people to the civil service based on their party affiliation.Gurirab was referring to debates by other MPs from which he said it could be inferred that this was the case.The only DTA members in the House at the time of the vote – Venaani and Johan de Waal – were the only ones to rise in support of the motion, while MAG, the CoD and Nudo all abstained.All Swapo MPs present voted against the motion.At the start of debate, De Waal requested that the wording of the motion be changed to state that Cabinet should “ensure that tribalism and ethnicity are properly managed and to take corrective measures where necessary”.De Waal asked that the House recognise that “ethnicity and tribalism are issues of national importance that should be handled carefully and responsibly and should not be politicised”.He said the proposed amendment to the original motion was an effort to unite the House and to ensure that Namibia would never follow the path of other countries that discriminated on the basis of race and ethnicity.The CoD’s Ben Ulenga called for the youth to be more sensitised about issues of tribalism.He said it was shocking that children born in an independent Namibia were brought up with perceptions still grounded in tribalism.”We’ve got a long way to go to ensure these Namibians don’t grow up in the same way parents did,” he said.”The time must come when bodies do not reflect only the vicissitudes of the national liberation struggle, but what we want to become, and what kind of nation we want to build.”MAG’s Jurie Viljoen said he was concerned that because in the past white people were responsible for oppression in Namibia, that today all of them were accused of this.”Not all whites are criminals and capitalists and thieves of land,” he said.”The vast majority of the whites in this country are prepared to work hand in hand with Government to find a solution to the land issue.”Deputy Prime Minister Libertina Amathila said discussions on ethnicity and tribalism were a “dangerous and untenable road to pursue”.She said De Waal’s motion could not be accepted, as the Constitution outlawed ethnic and tribal discrimination.* In an article, ‘Jobs for comrades causes uproar in Parliament’, on Wednesday, July 6, the CoD’s Tsudao Gurirab was inadvertently reported as saying that he believed Government appointed people to the civil service based on their party affiliation.Gurirab was referring to debates by other MPs from which he said it could be inferred that this was the case.