VETERAN politician Mburumba Kerina says old Swapo leaders must retire and allow young people to bring new ideas to the party.
He says many of the leaders have overstayed their welcome, and were weakening the party because they were “dead wood”.
The 87-year-old made these remarks in an exclusive interview with in Windhoek recently.
The veteran Swapo member played a crucial role in the then liberation movement’s formation.
Kerina claimed to have coined the name Swapo as it transformed from a largely workers’ organisation for a select group of nationals first called the Ovamboland People’s Congress (OPC), then the Ovamboland People’s Organisation (OPO).
The name Swapo was arrived at with the purpose of uniting the people of then South West Africa (Namibia) against the apartheid South African regime during the struggle for independence.
He reiterated that the ruling party has now degenerated and lost course in its aim of uniting Namibians for a common cause by turning more into a crude capitalist movement.
“Allowing young people to take over the party’s reins will bring new ideas for the organisation to remain relevant to voters.
These people are dead wood. They are old, and they have nothing to contribute to the future of this country anymore. Many of them have been involved in corruption, stealing taxpayers’ money. I think we are crucifying our youth, who can actually save us and our country, and get it out of this mud,” he stated.
Kerina said young people have the capability to turn the economic woes of the country around if given a chance to rise through the ranks of the party, and eventually into government positions.
“But we cannot fly with the dead wood who have not even been to the school of technology to know what technology is all about. Let us not kill our children because of our ignorance, and then try to isolate them. We must invest in the future of our children,” he added.
“We, the older generation, always say that our youth are our future. But we seem to be hanging onto power even in our old age. I don’t support that. We have done our part. We defined our future when the need arose at that time when we were fighting for independence.
“This is the future that we gave you. We are not going to live in this future of new technology, you are going to be living there. Define that future yourselves, we will give you support. And I am one of those who will never shy away from supporting our young people,” he stressed.
At its extraordinary congress last year, Swapo approved several amendments to its constitution, including raising the age requirements for presidential aspirants.
reported in December 2018 that those aspiring for the party’s presidential position must have been members for a minimum of 20 years, with 10 years in the central committee, the organisation’s highest decision-making body.
The counting of 20 years of service starts when a person joins the party’s young pioneers movement, Swapo’s arm for children between the ages of six and 17 years.
Technically, the minimum age for Swapo’s presidential candidates is 35 years, but in practice, the position is tough to get.
The central committee has mostly been for people above 35 years, and the party tends to operate as a hierarchy.
Swapo’s presidential position has been contested by people in the central committee in the past, but the incumbent vice president eventually becomes president.
This has been the case with the previous leaders of the party.
Former party president Hifikepunye Pohamba was 67 years old when he took over from founding president Sam Nujoma in 2004.
Swapo president Hage Geingob is 78 years old. He was 71 when he was elected party vice president in 2012.
His deputy, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (66) will be 72 when Geingob’s term comes to an end in 2022.
Young people do not feature in discussions on who will succeed Geingob.
reported last month that 77-year-old former secretary general Nangolo Mbumba and Nandi-Ndaitwah are the two names popping up in succession talks.
When approached for comment yesterday, Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa trashed Kerina’s comments, saying she was still youthful because she did not join the party at the time Kerina and others did.
She said the party’s old guard were still useful for wisdom, and “most of them are still energetic and contributing to the development of this country”.
“Ageing, yes this is nature at work, but as a Swapo member, these are the people we still look up to as our pillars of strength in the party. Many of them led us through the difficult times of the liberation struggle.
“I may not give you the statistics, but Swapo has young representatives in parliament and Cabinet. The party has always been promoting that matter of generational takeover,” she added.
