Political Perspective

I WONDER whether this sudden and inexplicable fuss about traditional leaders isn’t getting out of hand. We all accept these chiefs have their place in society, but if we aren’t careful in acceding to their demands, we’ll have recreated the old Odendaal Plan in a different guise in independent Namibia.

IT’S obviously an awkward situation for Government. While they’re committed to a ‘one-Namibia, one-nation concept’, it is difficult to implement in practice when various ethnic groups are agitating for recognition, and more crucially, of course, with elections just on the horizon, Swapo will not want to arouse the ire of this sometimes volatile group of people by appearing to want to marginalise the traditional leaders.The chiefs, currently assembled in what is now called a Council of Traditional Leaders, represent some 42 traditional authorities, and it seems the number will keep growing, and herein lies a problem as well.Who do you recognise, and who not? And what role and functions do you accord to the leaders of these various groups? Addressing the opening of their meeting in Windhoek, Prime Minister Theo Ben Gurirab was very circumspect on the subject.He emphasised that traditional authorities should deal with ‘traditional and cultural issues’ within their areas of jurisdiction, but there’s no doubt that chiefs will want more, and this is evident from the proposal to rename their Council a ‘National House’; the request to Foreign Affairs to grant them ‘VIP status’, and other indications that they’re not prepared to play the low key role that is envisaged by Government.Minister of Local Government, Joel Kaapanda, was also measured in his remarks because the chiefs issue is a political minefield! I just think the whole issue is rife with volatility.I think too that it’s in Government (and the country’s) best interests to be firm rather than the contrary when somewhat outrageous demands are made by these ethnic leaders many of whom are paid, and yet do nothing for their sometimes imperilled communities, if they’re even staying there at all! One would think that as Namibians we would work towards a society in which ethnic sectors are not as clearly defined into geographic areas as was the case under apartheid, and to a large extent, continues today.While we condemn so much of what apartheid represented in all its negative manifestations, we tend to turn a blind eye to the fact that the South African Government put in place many of these same chiefs and mini kingdoms to perpetuate and strengthen their ‘divide and rule’ tactics over Namibians.Lest we forget, many communal/traditional leaders co-operated with the former SA regime in exchange for a powerbase.Gurirab continued his placatory speech by speaking of the role of traditional leaders in maintaining peace and stability and said that Government, in turn, would help ‘strengthen their capacity’.But again the functions of these authorities will in all likelihood conflict with regional authorities and, at the end of the day, we’ll be back again with tiers of bantustan-type bureaucracies.That is a danger.So let’s give these traditional leaders a place.But we should not give in to outrageous demands such as ‘VIP status’ and/or the need to arm themselves because if they’re true leaders, they don’t need laagers and guns to protect themselves against those who are, after all, members of their own communities.While they’re committed to a ‘one-Namibia, one-nation concept’, it is difficult to implement in practice when various ethnic groups are agitating for recognition, and more crucially, of course, with elections just on the horizon, Swapo will not want to arouse the ire of this sometimes volatile group of people by appearing to want to marginalise the traditional leaders.The chiefs, currently assembled in what is now called a Council of Traditional Leaders, represent some 42 traditional authorities, and it seems the number will keep growing, and herein lies a problem as well.Who do you recognise, and who not? And what role and functions do you accord to the leaders of these various groups? Addressing the opening of their meeting in Windhoek, Prime Minister Theo Ben Gurirab was very circumspect on the subject.He emphasised that traditional authorities should deal with ‘traditional and cultural issues’ within their areas of jurisdiction, but there’s no doubt that chiefs will want more, and this is evident from the proposal to rename their Council a ‘National House’; the request to Foreign Affairs to grant them ‘VIP status’, and other indications that they’re not prepared to play the low key role that is envisaged by Government.Minister of Local Government, Joel Kaapanda, was also measured in his remarks because the chiefs issue is a political minefield! I just think the whole issue is rife with volatility.I think too that it’s in Government (and the country’s) best interests to be firm rather than the contrary when somewhat outrageous demands are made by these ethnic leaders many of whom are paid, and yet do nothing for their sometimes imperilled communities, if they’re even staying there at all! One would think that as Namibians we would work towards a society in which ethnic sectors are not as clearly defined into geographic areas as was the case under apartheid, and to a large extent, continues today.While we condemn so much of what apartheid represented in all its negative manifestations, we tend to turn a blind eye to the fact that the South African Government put in place many of these same chiefs and mini kingdoms to perpetuate and strengthen their ‘divide and rule’ tactics over Namibians.Lest we forget, many communal/traditional leaders co-operated with the former SA regime in exchange for a powerbase.Gurirab continued his placatory speech by speaking of the role of traditional leaders in maintaining peace and stability and said that Government, in turn, would help ‘strengthen their capacity’.But again the functions of these authorities will in all likelihood conflict with regional authorities and, at the end of the day, we’ll be back again with tiers of bantustan-type bureaucracies.That is a danger.So let’s give these traditional leaders a place.But we should not give in to outrageous demands such as ‘VIP status’ and/or the need to arm themselves because if they’re true leaders, they don’t need laagers and guns to protect themselves against those who are, after all, members of their own communities.