Political Perspective

POLITICAL dishonesty and lack of principle are prevalent at this juncture, and I cannot help wonder whether this is simply more visible than usual due to circumstances or whether the now exacerbated divisions within the hierarchy of the ruling party are giving impetus to confusion and lack of decisiveness and transparency, even (but not only) at the level of the Presidency.

To all accounts it is worrying because it has direct impact on good governance. THE infighting is one thing.While it has public resonance, it is the business that the Swapo Party itself has to take care of.But when it begins to impact on the business of State, we need to seriously appeal to the ruling party to get its act together in the interests of all Namibians.It is my opinion (within the parameters of the system of proportional representation) that Swapo can elect who it likes, but once in Government, those put in such positions of trust must function effectively and be held to account when they don’t.Now more than ever it is necessary for the President to give direction, heading, as he does, both the ruling party and the Namibian State.Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’ will literally be upon us unless something is done very soon.President Hifikepunye Pohamba is not to blame for most of the discord within the ruling party, but it still remains incumbent on him to do something about it, at this point without fear or favour, or continue to be regarded as weak and indecisive and exploited by all sides for their own ends.The opposition parties, for example, can have their internal wranglings and lack of harmony, as they do, but at the end of the day only their credibility as political parties are at stake, and not the fate of a nation as could well be the case if Swapo begins to unravel.For Swapo is responsible primarily for good governance, and if they cannot manage their own affairs, critics may justifiably ask how they can manage the Government? There’s little doubt that whatever the truth or fiction about the content of the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) agreement, that Government must take the responsibility for having handled the whole matter very badly indeed.And right now Prime Minister Nahas Angula is spearheading an attempt to make parliamentarians and others understand what the project is about, somewhat after the fact, if you ask me! Procedurally the questions should have been asked, and the discussions held, and the public put in the picture, before rather than after the deal had been signed.The word ’empowerment’ is in any case, in my view, a loaded one, because it is seldom the truly disadvantaged who benefit from such projects, and given that Government defines even its top wage-earners in this category, it begs the question as to who’s really benefiting from all of this.That aside, the divisions within Swapo, nasty and incestuous though they are, must be dealt with and I’m not convinced that the Politburo meeting this week will be able to fix things.But decisive leadership, exposing the divisions and dealing with the problems that have caused them, may go some way towards mending the deep-seated distrust that is settling on several factions within the movement.The President has, to date, unfortunately, also been less than honest, and while one has absolute recognition of the fact that he himself is caught between a rock and a hard place, he should nevertheless take a principled stand.He’ll probably go down, either way, at least as far as a second term is concerned, but at least he can be said to have kept some credibility in the process.He should be taking issue with his Ministers when they are untruthful or act in a manner unbefitting their status.Minister Joel Kaapanda on the Ya France issue for one; and Minister Erkki Nghimtina on the shooting incident for another.The President must be even-handed in dealing with the political elite, regardless of which faction within Swapo they may represent.It is no secret that at present certain Ministers are working against and/or deliberately undermining colleagues in all kinds of schemes, plots and plans, and it matters for the sake of our country.This should not be allowed.At the moment confusion is rife and the agendas within Swapo ranks two a dozen.Distrust has reached major proportions between individuals and groups.The President (I can’t see who else) must get a grip on things.Former President Sam Nujoma cannot be expected to dive into the fray, and neither should he.It is time for the leadership to show that they are just that, or expose themselves as people without honesty or principle.THE infighting is one thing.While it has public resonance, it is the business that the Swapo Party itself has to take care of.But when it begins to impact on the business of State, we need to seriously appeal to the ruling party to get its act together in the interests of all Namibians.It is my opinion (within the parameters of the system of proportional representation) that Swapo can elect who it likes, but once in Government, those put in such positions of trust must function effectively and be held to account when they don’t.Now more than ever it is necessary for the President to give direction, heading, as he does, both the ruling party and the Namibian State.Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’ will literally be upon us unless something is done very soon.President Hifikepunye Pohamba is not to blame for most of the discord within the ruling party, but it still remains incumbent on him to do something about it, at this point without fear or favour, or continue to be regarded as weak and indecisive and exploited by all sides for their own ends.The opposition parties, for example, can have their internal wranglings and lack of harmony, as they do, but at the end of the day only their credibility as political parties are at stake, and not the fate of a nation as could well be the case if Swapo begins to unravel.For Swapo is responsible primarily for good governance, and if they cannot manage their own affairs, critics may justifiably ask how they can manage the Government? There’s little doubt that whatever the truth or fiction about the content of the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) agreement, that Government must take the responsibility for having handled the whole matter very badly indeed.And right now Prime Minister Nahas Angula is spearheading an attempt to make parliamentarians and others understand what the project is about, somewhat after the fact, if you ask me! Procedurally the questions should have been asked, and the discussions held, and the public put in the picture, before rather than after the deal had been signed.The word ’empowerment’ is in any case, in my view, a loaded one, because it is seldom the truly disadvantaged who benefit from such projects, and given that Government defines even its top wage-earners in this category, it begs the question as to who’s really benefiting from all of this.That aside, the divisions within Swapo, nasty and incestuous though they are, must be dealt with and I’m not convinced that the Politburo meeting this week will be able to fix things.But decisive leadership, exposing the divisions and dealing with the problems that have caused them, may go some way towards mending the deep-seated distrust that is settling on several factions within the movement.The President has, to date, unfortunately, also been less than honest, and while one has absolute recognition of the fact that he himself is caught between a rock and a hard place, he should nevertheless take a principled stand.He’ll probably go down, either way, at least as far as a second term is concerned, but at least he can be said to have kept some credibility in the process.He should be taking issue with his Ministers when they are untruthful or act in a manner unbefitting their status.Minister Joel Kaapanda on the Ya France issue for one; and Minister Erkki Nghimtina on the shooting incident for another.The President must be even-handed in dealing with the political elite, regardless of which faction within Swapo they may represent.It is no secret that at pres
ent certain Ministers are working against and/or deliberately undermining colleagues in all kinds of schemes, plots and plans, and it matters for the sake of our country.This should not be allowed.At the moment confusion is rife and the agendas within Swapo ranks two a dozen.Distrust has reached major proportions between individuals and groups.The President (I can’t see who else) must get a grip on things.Former President Sam Nujoma cannot be expected to dive into the fray, and neither should he.It is time for the leadership to show that they are just that, or expose themselves as people without honesty or principle.