SPYL ‘ignorant’: Mbuende

NAMIBIA’S Ambassador to the United Nations, Dr Kaire Mbuende, has shot down calls for his recall, saying they were borne out of ‘ignorance’.

Mbuende was reacting to a call by Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) Secretary Elijah Ngurare for Mbuende to be relieved of his duties due to non-performance.The SPYL held a joint media briefing with the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) last Thursday.Mbuende told The Namibian in a telephonic interview from New York that those calling for his head are ignorant about the work he has done for the country at the UN.He adds that the SPYL and NUNW were ignorant about the Namibian population in New York and the surrounding areas. The catalyst to the calls for his dismissal was the recent election results in New York, which showed that Swapo got 24 out of 49 votes while the RDP got 22 and other parties three. Mbuende said the voters’ choices should not be blamed on him or his staff. He said the New York mission has about nine Namibians stationed there. He said the rest of the voters are Namibians living in New York and some never returned to Namibia after Independence.He also said that not all Namibians in New York voted.Mbuende’s appointment in 2005 was marred by controversy, since Mbuende was seen as being aligned to RDP President Hidipo Hamutenya. Mbuende served as Hamutenya’s deputy when Hamutenya was Minister of Foreign Affairs. The two were sacked from their positions by former President Sam Nujoma in 2004. The Namibian has it on good authority that President Hifikepunye Pohamba defended his decision in the highest party circles by saying that he was satisfied with Mbuende’s loyalty to the Swapo Party.The Minister of Presidential Affairs, Dr Albert Kawana, refused to comment on behalf of State House on the SPYL demand for Mbuende’s recall. In response to questions why he had not been publicly campaigning for Swapo this election, Mbuende told The Namibian that he was never asked to address a rally and that there were no rallies taking place when he last visited the country.A political analyst told The Namibian that ambassadors are supposed to represent the interests of the State and not necessarily those of the ruling party. ‘They cannot expect him (Mbuende) to be a Swapo mobiliser in New York.’Another analyst, who did not want to be named, said the SPYL was questioning the President’s judgement in choosing whom to appoint as ambassadors, advisors and special advisors. The SPYL also demanded that from March next year, the President should only be advised by the party’s top three leaders below him. The Namibian has been informed that some sections in the ruling party feel that senior officials at State House and Cabinet have allied themselves with the opposition and thus give the President advice that is not in line with party policies and procedures. According to a local daily, the Secretary General of RDP, Jesaya Nyamu, claimed at a recent rally at Outapi that his party was represented at the highest echelons in Government, including State House.’RDP is represented everywhere you can think of. Even at State House. They are calling our representatives at State House ‘hibernators’ but those people are on a mission,’ Nyamu was quoted by the daily.