Political Perspective

THE President wasn’t wrong, in principle, to take issue with farmers resistant to land reform, but again he has failed to address the issue in a holistic manner.

The ‘white’, ‘minority’, ‘racist’ farming community, as he refers to them, aren’t the only culprits or transgressors of the policy of reconciliation, and we need to be responsible in calling all to account in this regard, no matter their colour or political beliefs. The Swapo Youth League’s Paulus Kapia is an example in point.THE President himself could watch his words and rather refer to a ‘small clique of farmers’, rather than use emotive language, such as ‘white’, ‘minority’ and ‘racist’, which serves only to get peoples’ backs up.Neither does it contribute to reconciliation because unfortunately it tends to tar most ‘whites’ with the same brush and the implication is further that this is a group apart, different from the rest.This, as we all know, is not the case.Like it or not, even these extremists are Namibian, and like it or not, part of the society in which we live.Those who contravene our Constitution, making themselves guilty of hate speech for example, should be dealt with in accordance with our laws.The Youth League’s Kapia yesterday issued a statement that is riddled with hate speech, nasty invective and outright defamation against, among others, this newspaper, the CoD, commercial farming community, and topping it all with an expressed willingness to go to war! What’s the bet the President doesn’t call him to order? Yet Nujoma refers to reconciliation as a ‘two way street’ as if it was only black and white that should reconcile.He knows full well that it means more than this simplistic definition implies.There are many groups of people that need to be reconciled in this country, whether it’s the former Swapo detainees and the Party which imprisoned and/or tortured them; or the gap that has widened within the ruling party itself between the Hamutenya and Nujoma factions, for example! There’s an awful lot of healing still to be done, all round.All Namibians, regardless of skin colour, have a commitment to this country and its Constitution.All should be expected to adhere to the letter and spirit of the document forged by our founding fathers and mothers.The President, however, is not himself entitled to practice selective morality, as he tends to do.While he urges others to adhere to the Constitution, he himself allowed it to be changed without compunction to allow for his third term in office! His pronouncements often counter his own stated commitment to reconciliation, and we don’t need to repeat all of them to prove our point.They have been well-documented.He ostracises people by labelling them ‘gay’, ‘gunrunners’ or ‘racists’, and endangers them in the process.And another example is his pronouncement on the churches, those he recognises and those he doesn’t.The Council of Churches itself has taken issue with this, and at the end of the day, it’s simply not up to the President to foist his beliefs on others.There is freedom of religion in Namibia, and if people choose to follow belief systems which do not necessarily conform to his idea of what a church should be, it’s not up to him to deter them.There are undoubtedly scam operators at work in the field of religion, as there are in other parts of our society, but there are appropriate laws to deal with them.We should all be equal before the law.Whether it is a diehard farmer resistant to change, a treason trialist, youth league leader or trade unionist, or anyone else for that matter, each must exercise responsibility for his/her words or deeds and their impact and effect upon others.We’ve got what could be described as a fairly eclectic population in Namibia which at the end of the day contributes to our wonderful diversity, and any worthwhile head of state needs to represent them all and in some ways take ownership of them.He is not only the President of Swapo or the President of all ‘black’ Namibians.He is looked up to as the ‘father of the nation’ – all colours, creeds and diversities – and so he should act like it.Take issue with those who do wrong, by all means, but do it in a manner that serves to bring people closer rather than drive them further apart.I’ve no doubt that would be the greatest contribution to nation building or reconciliation that the President could make.The Swapo Youth League’s Paulus Kapia is an example in point.THE President himself could watch his words and rather refer to a ‘small clique of farmers’, rather than use emotive language, such as ‘white’, ‘minority’ and ‘racist’, which serves only to get peoples’ backs up.Neither does it contribute to reconciliation because unfortunately it tends to tar most ‘whites’ with the same brush and the implication is further that this is a group apart, different from the rest.This, as we all know, is not the case.Like it or not, even these extremists are Namibian, and like it or not, part of the society in which we live.Those who contravene our Constitution, making themselves guilty of hate speech for example, should be dealt with in accordance with our laws.The Youth League’s Kapia yesterday issued a statement that is riddled with hate speech, nasty invective and outright defamation against, among others, this newspaper, the CoD, commercial farming community, and topping it all with an expressed willingness to go to war! What’s the bet the President doesn’t call him to order? Yet Nujoma refers to reconciliation as a ‘two way street’ as if it was only black and white that should reconcile.He knows full well that it means more than this simplistic definition implies.There are many groups of people that need to be reconciled in this country, whether it’s the former Swapo detainees and the Party which imprisoned and/or tortured them; or the gap that has widened within the ruling party itself between the Hamutenya and Nujoma factions, for example! There’s an awful lot of healing still to be done, all round.All Namibians, regardless of skin colour, have a commitment to this country and its Constitution.All should be expected to adhere to the letter and spirit of the document forged by our founding fathers and mothers.The President, however, is not himself entitled to practice selective morality, as he tends to do.While he urges others to adhere to the Constitution, he himself allowed it to be changed without compunction to allow for his third term in office! His pronouncements often counter his own stated commitment to reconciliation, and we don’t need to repeat all of them to prove our point.They have been well-documented.He ostracises people by labelling them ‘gay’, ‘gunrunners’ or ‘racists’, and endangers them in the process.And another example is his pronouncement on the churches, those he recognises and those he doesn’t.The Council of Churches itself has taken issue with this, and at the end of the day, it’s simply not up to the President to foist his beliefs on others.There is freedom of religion in Namibia, and if people choose to follow belief systems which do not necessarily conform to his idea of what a church should be, it’s not up to him to deter them.There are undoubtedly scam operators at work in the field of religion, as there are in other parts of our society, but there are appropriate laws to deal with them.We should all be equal before the law.Whether it is a diehard farmer resistant to change, a treason trialist, youth league leader or trade unionist, or anyone else for that matter, each must exercise responsibility for his/her words or deeds and their impact and effect upon others.We’ve got what could be described as a fairly eclectic population in Namibia which at the end of the day contributes to our wonderful diversity, and any worthwhile head of state needs to represent them all and in some ways take ownership of them.He is not only the President of Swapo or the President of all ‘black’ Namibians.He is looked up to as the ‘father of the nation’ – all colours, creeds and diversities – and so he should act like it.Take issue with those who do wrong, by all means, but do it in a manner that serves to bring people closer rather than drive them further apart.I’ve no doubt that would be the greatest contribution to nation building or reconciliation that the President could make.