Political Perspective

PRESIDENT Hifikepunye Pohamba is, fortunately, a voice of reason and moderation although he now heads a political party whose characteristics don’t necessarily mirror those of its new leader.

Hopefully in the months to come the President’s usually conciliatory stance will not only find resonance in Swapo which has tended to the opposite extreme, but will also manifest in the policies and practices of the Party and its branches, so that it finally begins to democratise from within. UNTIL recently, it was the more reactionary individuals and groups in the party which had ascendancy, not only to the detriment of Swapo, but the country as a whole.This is not to say nothing good has happened since Independence under a Swapo Government, for there have been obvious achievements; but we’ve not made the amount of progress we were capable of making in our 17-year history as an independent nation.If the Swapo Congress has one positive step, then it has been to give Pohamba leadership of the party in addition to being Head of State.For there is little doubt that in his first term of office he was all but held hostage by former President Sam Nujoma’s patronage.Or so I and many others believe.Swapo remains a political party trapped in history.Up to now it has been headed by a man who did (and still does) seem more ‘Swapo’ than ‘Namibian’, and who, despite attributes that served him and the party well in the liberation era, found it hard to make the transition from war to peacetime and to adapt his leadership style to being more inclusive.President Pohamba is made of different stuff.He, on the contrary, is more peacemaker than fighter, and it is these attributes that will in all likelihood serve Namibia better now.I’d be hard-pressed to picture the likes of President Pohamba lambasting the imperialists, homosexuals, whites and/or foreigners as his predecessor so often did, and in so doing, making of himself a dividing rather than uniting force.It is unlikely, for example, that the breakaway Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) would have happened under Pohamba’s watch as party leader.But all of the above would not have happened without Nujoma.And so it is also fair to say that it is he who has decided not to stay on and he who has handed over to Pohamba, and for that he must be given credit.For he does appear to have finally acknowledged that his time was over, and it remains my view that his major strength was as the leader of a liberation movement rather than as the Head of State he later became.In the former respect, he was formidable, and it is no mean feat to perform that function for 30 years; in the latter, he was less than comfortable and he didn’t fit the role quite as well.In a recent address, President Pohamba has called on Namibians to stop blaming all social evils on colonialism and to start finding answers to some of the country’s problems, and it is time this was said by the Head of State and I commend him for that.Nujoma, on the other hand, acted as though colonialism still existed, and it provided ready excuses for non-performance in the past.Now Namibians must get on with the future and I believe that is the essence of what President Pohamba is now trying to say.And if he continues in this vein, he can be a uniting force.He will never be charismatic and forceful, but in his own quiet yet disciplined way, he can put us on the path to progress.Now at last President Pohamba has the power, and I for one, would love to see that he uses it for the greater good of the Namibian nation first and foremost.Swapo, on the other hand, must adapt to taking second place.UNTIL recently, it was the more reactionary individuals and groups in the party which had ascendancy, not only to the detriment of Swapo, but the country as a whole.This is not to say nothing good has happened since Independence under a Swapo Government, for there have been obvious achievements; but we’ve not made the amount of progress we were capable of making in our 17-year history as an independent nation.If the Swapo Congress has one positive step, then it has been to give Pohamba leadership of the party in addition to being Head of State.For there is little doubt that in his first term of office he was all but held hostage by former President Sam Nujoma’s patronage.Or so I and many others believe.Swapo remains a political party trapped in history.Up to now it has been headed by a man who did (and still does) seem more ‘Swapo’ than ‘Namibian’, and who, despite attributes that served him and the party well in the liberation era, found it hard to make the transition from war to peacetime and to adapt his leadership style to being more inclusive.President Pohamba is made of different stuff.He, on the contrary, is more peacemaker than fighter, and it is these attributes that will in all likelihood serve Namibia better now.I’d be hard-pressed to picture the likes of President Pohamba lambasting the imperialists, homosexuals, whites and/or foreigners as his predecessor so often did, and in so doing, making of himself a dividing rather than uniting force.It is unlikely, for example, that the breakaway Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) would have happened under Pohamba’s watch as party leader.But all of the above would not have happened without Nujoma.And so it is also fair to say that it is he who has decided not to stay on and he who has handed over to Pohamba, and for that he must be given credit.For he does appear to have finally acknowledged that his time was over, and it remains my view that his major strength was as the leader of a liberation movement rather than as the Head of State he later became.In the former respect, he was formidable, and it is no mean feat to perform that function for 30 years; in the latter, he was less than comfortable and he didn’t fit the role quite as well. In a recent address, President Pohamba has called on Namibians to stop blaming all social evils on colonialism and to start finding answers to some of the country’s problems, and it is time this was said by the Head of State and I commend him for that.Nujoma, on the other hand, acted as though colonialism still existed, and it provided ready excuses for non-performance in the past.Now Namibians must get on with the future and I believe that is the essence of what President Pohamba is now trying to say.And if he continues in this vein, he can be a uniting force.He will never be charismatic and forceful, but in his own quiet yet disciplined way, he can put us on the path to progress.Now at last President Pohamba has the power, and I for one, would love to see that he uses it for the greater good of the Namibian nation first and foremost.Swapo, on the other hand, must adapt to taking second place.