Traditional authorities should guard against tribalism – vice president

Vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has urged traditional authorities to guard against tribalism, because it could hamper development.

She said this during the annual Batshara Cultural Festival at Sangwali village in the Zambezi region on Sunday.

The Mayeyi tribe in the Zambezi region, under the leadership of chief Boniface Shufu, celebrated the event, which was themed ‘My Culture, My Pride’.

Nandi-Ndaitwah said the country’s different cultures and norms should not be used to cause division.

“Tribalism has created a lot of problems in different parts of the world and like corruption, tribalism is against development.

“Therefore, we must use our culture to bring our tribes together and build a strong, prosperous Namibia.

“The government’s objectives are promoting peace and stability in the country, in particular that traditional leaders are closer to the people and are able to monitor any negative developments and arrest the situation before it gets out of hand,” she said.

She applauded the Mayeyi Traditional Authority for its active promotion of peaceful co-existence with other traditional communities and with all peace-loving Namibians.

Shufu appealed to the government to drill more boreholes, as many communities in his area still have to travel long distances to access clean water.

He said these water challenges have been worsened by the ongoing drought as humans and wildlife are competing for water.

“We also appeal to the government to engage electricity distributors to electrify all homesteads within a kilometer radius of the rural schools that are already electrified.

“Furthermore, youth unemployment is worsening and we need the government to address that as well,” Shufu said.