Political Perspective

THE SIGNS are confusing, and at times it appears as if the ruling party is being pulled in two directions.Consistency seems to be key, and I wonder whether it is achievable under the circumstances where our head of state and Swapo Party leader are two different people? In the past, former President Sam Nujoma straddled both positions.

Now he continues to head the ruling party while President Hifikepunye Pohamba leads the country, and the situation is sometimes reminiscent of a two-headed hydra. WHILE the head of state is supposed to represent the country as a whole and all its citizens, regardless of who or what they represent politically or otherwise, he is at the same time committed to implementing the Swapo Party mandate.Like it or not, there are sometimes contradictions between the two.This was not a problem for former President Nujoma as much as it will be for incumbent President Pohamba by virtue of the fact that the former held down both jobs.Nujoma will continue to drive the Swapo agenda and this may sometimes come into direct conflict with the plan of the head of state, particularly as far as his campaign against corruption and mismanagement is concerned.Let us take just one example, the revelation of former Swapo Youth League Secretary Paulus Kapia (now deputy Minister) in the SSC-Avid saga and missing millions.President Pohamba is obliged to let the law take its course, comrades or no comrades.On the other hand, SYL is already vociferously defending its former chief, dismissing the charges against him as, once again, a figment of what they term the Eurocentric media.How, under the circumstances, can Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, also Swapo Secretary of Publicity and Mobilisation, claim as she did in a press conference this week, that ‘the Party preserves its dignity and unity’? She was insisting on this against the background of an anti-Nujoma letter that appeared in a local newspaper, disputing that the writer/s are Swapo members.Who wrote the letter is almost irrelevant.Perhaps it was a Swapo member or perhaps not.It was not in good taste, whoever wrote it, but I still don’t think it warranted a press conference, and I still don’t think these and other missives constitute attempts to ‘destabilise or fragment’ the country as she maintained; and/or to ‘destroy or weaken Swapo’.There are divisions in Swapo.It is a fact.It was publicly acknowledged in the fact that a committee was set up to deal specifically with reconciliation in the wake of the Nujoma-Hamutenya divide.Swapo continues to live with the fallout from that.But that’s something for the Party itself to sort out at its strategic workshops.What is far more important than Swapo’s internal differences is our unity as a country and a people.Whether factions of the Party support Nujoma or Hamutenya or Pohamba or other leaders for that matter, are mere political differences.We know full well they all have their support groups.But I have no doubt the one commonality is that they all still love their country.We have seen a very vocal and nasty campaign against the former Foreign Affairs Minister, unquestionably by Swapo members, so why be surprised if there are some who feel as strongly about the former President.Why is the one campaign acceptable and the other not? Surely Swapo itself is aware there are people, for example, who are angered at the ostracism of the likes of Hamutenya on the one hand; and Geingob on the other? Both of these, again like or not, with the tacit support of the former head of state.It’s all politics, isn’t it? So these are just some of the inconsistencies Swapo itself needs to answer.What the Party does need to resolve is the issue of who is in charge.I said it last week, and I say it again now.Must Swapo tailor its policies according to what’s best for the country or vice versa? There will be important tests ahead for the President and Party leader.The final outcome of how it’s done, does not lie in the hands of anonymous letter or e-mail writers.It lies in the hands of leadership.WHILE the head of state is supposed to represent the country as a whole and all its citizens, regardless of who or what they represent politically or otherwise, he is at the same time committed to implementing the Swapo Party mandate.Like it or not, there are sometimes contradictions between the two.This was not a problem for former President Nujoma as much as it will be for incumbent President Pohamba by virtue of the fact that the former held down both jobs.Nujoma will continue to drive the Swapo agenda and this may sometimes come into direct conflict with the plan of the head of state, particularly as far as his campaign against corruption and mismanagement is concerned.Let us take just one example, the revelation of former Swapo Youth League Secretary Paulus Kapia (now deputy Minister) in the SSC-Avid saga and missing millions.President Pohamba is obliged to let the law take its course, comrades or no comrades.On the other hand, SYL is already vociferously defending its former chief, dismissing the charges against him as, once again, a figment of what they term the Eurocentric media.How, under the circumstances, can Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, also Swapo Secretary of Publicity and Mobilisation, claim as she did in a press conference this week, that ‘the Party preserves its dignity and unity’? She was insisting on this against the background of an anti-Nujoma letter that appeared in a local newspaper, disputing that the writer/s are Swapo members.Who wrote the letter is almost irrelevant.Perhaps it was a Swapo member or perhaps not.It was not in good taste, whoever wrote it, but I still don’t think it warranted a press conference, and I still don’t think these and other missives constitute attempts to ‘destabilise or fragment’ the country as she maintained; and/or to ‘destroy or weaken Swapo’.There are divisions in Swapo.It is a fact.It was publicly acknowledged in the fact that a committee was set up to deal specifically with reconciliation in the wake of the Nujoma-Hamutenya divide.Swapo continues to live with the fallout from that.But that’s something for the Party itself to sort out at its strategic workshops.What is far more important than Swapo’s internal differences is our unity as a country and a people.Whether factions of the Party support Nujoma or Hamutenya or Pohamba or other leaders for that matter, are mere political differences.We know full well they all have their support groups.But I have no doubt the one commonality is that they all still love their country.We have seen a very vocal and nasty campaign against the former Foreign Affairs Minister, unquestionably by Swapo members, so why be surprised if there are some who feel as strongly about the former President.Why is the one campaign acceptable and the other not? Surely Swapo itself is aware there are people, for example, who are angered at the ostracism of the likes of Hamutenya on the one hand; and Geingob on the other? Both of these, again like or not, with the tacit support of the former head of state.It’s all politics, isn’t it? So these are just some of the inconsistencies Swapo itself needs to answer.What the Party does need to resolve is the issue of who is in charge.I said it last week, and I say it again now.Must Swapo tailor its policies according to what’s best for the country or vice versa? There will be important tests ahead for the President and Party leader.The final outcome of how it’s done, does not lie in the hands of anonymous letter or e-mail writers.It lies in the hands of leadership.