Uniting Namibians will not be easy – Kudumo

Public policy analyst Marius Kudumo says president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah will not have it easy in uniting Namibians.

Kudumo’s response comes after Nandi-Ndaitwah in her speech said she does not want to lead a divided nation.

She was speaking at the inaugural Genocide Remembrance Day at parliament gardens on Wednesday, to honour the victims of the 1904-1908 genocide.

“She could unite Namibians, especially leaders of the affected communities, if the government approaches the matter with an open mind and without predetermined positions and expectations.

“It will not be easy, though, considering that the negotiations between the Germany and Namibia have advanced,” he says.

Kudumo says there are fundamental matters that some leaders and members of the affected communities who are currently not participating in the negotiations are raising.

The government at the highest level, he says, should initiate dialogue with representatives of those affected communities, listen to their grievances, seek consensus and agree on how to accommodate some of their proposals.

“We should remember that the German state has set a precedent in how they handled the holocaust negotiations with Israel, including to whom reparation was paid.

“Both the state of Israel and the World Jewish Congress received reparations,” he adds.

He says the drafting of the Namibian Constitution demonstrated that Namibians have the ability to resolve difficult questions.

He believes the internal conference on affected communities and genocide, which Landless People’s Movement leader Bernadus Swartbooi held recently, is perhaps the way to go.

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