‘We must reclaim the dream’

THE Rally of Democracy and Progress (RDP) would revive the African values of Umbutu and build a value-centred society once in power, the secretary general of the party said on Thursday night at a public lecture at the University of Namibia.

‘Through our election manifesto, which is set out in ten parts, we will build a value-centred society, where we tap into the diversity and talents of all our people – black and white,’ Jesaya Nyamu said. ‘There are those in our society who want to play the tribe and race cards to the detriment of our fledging nation. What we need is to reclaim the dream of 1990, where we seek to close the chasms of racism, colonialism and tribalism. We need a new government to do this – because after four elections and 20 years of trying good policies, are in place – implementation has been bad,’ he said. Corruption is eating into the moral fibre of the nation and undermining confidence in the nation’s governing system. Its underlying immorality was taking away resources from the poorest of the poor to line the pockets of the greedy, he said.’The citizens must have confidence that these processes are not subject to the whims of any individual and cannot be bent to suit the personal interests of any single individual,’ the RDP leader emphasised. When President Hifikepunye Pohamba’s government took steps against the then Deputy Minister of Transport, Paulus Kapia, the country felt that at least there was some moral commitment to address allegations of corruption firmly, speedily and transparently. But Kapia was just ‘quarantined’ for a while and was now on the Swapo Party list for Parliament again.’Do you want to return an ‘accused corrupt leader’ to Parliament? We in RDP say criminal and corrupt leaders belong in jail,not in Parliament,’ Nyamu lashed out.’Other examples of corruption are the TransNamib case, where the Chief Executive Officer Titus Haimbili was fired by the board of directors and the Swapo Politburo returned him behind closed doors – to do what? Steal again?’ Nyamu asked. ‘We saw incredible indecisiveness with the subsequent cases like that of Teko Trading involved with the Chinese Nuctech company and the looting of the NWR assets in the name of black economic empowerment (BEE) and pubic private partnership (PPP).’ SPECIAL COURTSPeople were asking where the ‘toothless’ Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) was, Nyamu added. ‘(ACC boss Paulus) Noa has been warned to shut up by Swapo leaders, his masters – especially as it seems that this was done to shield Swapo-connected politicians in particular from the sting of the ACC – a sting that has been targeting smaller fish.’ RDP would establish a clean government that would embrace the value of honesty and create a new ACC, which would be headed by an independent judge. We will see the best of our Police force skills being brought to bear on cracking the criminal syndicates and keeping corrupt people, including politicians, on their toes,’ Nyamu promised.An RDP government would not celebrate corrupt elements by electing them to leadership positions, he said. Instead, the RDP wanted special courts to deal with corruption.’Our new agenda for change and hope will see us implement a revision of the tender system to eliminate corruption, protect whistleblowers so that communities can join the fight against crime and corruption, have specialised programmes and activities to focus on discouraging youth from engaging in criminal activities and strengthen the Police to deliver a quality, professional, non-partisan service. We will make visible policing a priority.’Speaking about economic development, Nyamu said once in power, the RDP would strengthen BEE by creating a law for its implementation.’Affirmative Action can only succeed if all races collaborate around it. One of the critical ingredients of its success for example is mentorship. Those who have acquired skills over the years are still needed by the country to transfer these skills to many more people. The current Affirmative Action law still envisages that in five years 40 per cent of the workforce should consist of those that are historically disadvantaged. Will there be space for white graduates in the workforce?’ he asked. ’Like BEE, Affirmative Action needs to be monitored closely so that it achieves its stated goals. The current setup where less than 2 per cent of the big business is in the hands of black business is unacceptable in a country with our demographics, 20 years after Independence. ‘These issues need to be debated openly and transparently with all our people so that all population groups can see and understand the value of this approach for the benefit of all Namibians.’