Pohamba, president in waiting

WINDHOEK – Hifikepunye Pohamba spent most of his country’s freedom struggle and all of its independence in the shadow of outgoing President Sam Nujoma.

Many Namibians suspect he may remain there even after this week’s vote. A founding member of the ruling Swapo party in 1960 and Nujoma’s close confidante since the heyday of the liberation struggle, Pohamba is not believed to have nursed presidential ambitions until Nujoma hand-picked him to become the party vice president in 2002.Until earlier this year, when he was named as a likely candidate to succeed Nujoma, Pohamba is said to have been eyeing a quieter life as a livestock farmer.As Lands Minister the 69-year-old veteran of the guerrilla war has pledged to accelerate redistribution of white-owned land to landless blacks through expropriation, a policy backed by Nujoma.But no land has yet been seized under the policy and Pohamba insists the law will be followed to the letter.Many observers say the threat of expropriation is designed more to prompt farmers into voluntary sales rather than as a concerted effort to take over white-owned land.Like Nujoma and half the Namibian population, Pohamba hails from the Owambo people who live in the densely populated north near the Angolan border and form the base of Swapo support.He was born on August 18 1935.He went into exile in 1961 after being flogged by the South African-backed tribal authority, and was jailed or deported twice when returning to Namibia in the 1960s.Later he studied social and political studies in the Soviet Union.NUJOMA’S MAN Analysts say Nujoma backed Pohamba to succeed him to maintain his own influence on government — which he will be able to do indirectly in any case as he remains president of Swapo until at least 2007.Pohamba’s short grey beard and spectacles could almost be a tribute to his mentor.He is a party man through and through, and in public appearances lacks Nujoma’s personal charisma.”I don’t have personal successes.My life has been one of collectiveness with others,” a government-owned newspaper quoted him as saying.”The challenge before me is to uphold the legacy of comrade Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma by continuing to maintain unity, peace, stability and the prosperity of the Namibian people,” he told a Swapo election rally at the weekend.For supporters Pohamba represents continuity and stability, but critics see him as a symbol of stasis and stagnation — and the choice of a 69-year-old as symptomatic of Swapo’s reluctance to move on from the liberation struggle.But while Pohamba may hope everything remains the same, he has challenges to face, not least making good on his party’s promise to eliminate poverty and lift Namibia into the developed world.Despite economic growth and vibrant mining, fishing and tourism industries, unemployment and poverty are widespread in Namibia, with much wealth concentrated in minority white hands, while the HIV-AIDS infection rate is above 20 per cent.- Nampa-ReutersA founding member of the ruling Swapo party in 1960 and Nujoma’s close confidante since the heyday of the liberation struggle, Pohamba is not believed to have nursed presidential ambitions until Nujoma hand-picked him to become the party vice president in 2002.Until earlier this year, when he was named as a likely candidate to succeed Nujoma, Pohamba is said to have been eyeing a quieter life as a livestock farmer.As Lands Minister the 69-year-old veteran of the guerrilla war has pledged to accelerate redistribution of white-owned land to landless blacks through expropriation, a policy backed by Nujoma.But no land has yet been seized under the policy and Pohamba insists the law will be followed to the letter.Many observers say the threat of expropriation is designed more to prompt farmers into voluntary sales rather than as a concerted effort to take over white-owned land.Like Nujoma and half the Namibian population, Pohamba hails from the Owambo people who live in the densely populated north near the Angolan border and form the base of Swapo support.He was born on August 18 1935.He went into exile in 1961 after being flogged by the South African-backed tribal authority, and was jailed or deported twice when returning to Namibia in the 1960s.Later he studied social and political studies in the Soviet Union.NUJOMA’S MAN Analysts say Nujoma backed Pohamba to succeed him to maintain his own influence on government — which he will be able to do indirectly in any case as he remains president of Swapo until at least 2007.Pohamba’s short grey beard and spectacles could almost be a tribute to his mentor.He is a party man through and through, and in public appearances lacks Nujoma’s personal charisma.”I don’t have personal successes.My life has been one of collectiveness with others,” a government-owned newspaper quoted him as saying.”The challenge before me is to uphold the legacy of comrade Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma by continuing to maintain unity, peace, stability and the prosperity of the Namibian people,” he told a Swapo election rally at the weekend.For supporters Pohamba represents continuity and stability, but critics see him as a symbol of stasis and stagnation — and the choice of a 69-year-old as symptomatic of Swapo’s reluctance to move on from the liberation struggle.But while Pohamba may hope everything remains the same, he has challenges to face, not least making good on his party’s promise to eliminate poverty and lift Namibia into the developed world.Despite economic growth and vibrant mining, fishing and tourism industries, unemployment and poverty are widespread in Namibia, with much wealth concentrated in minority white hands, while the HIV-AIDS infection rate is above 20 per cent.- Nampa-Reuters