Zimbabwe heaps praise on Swapo’s transition effort

ZIMBABWE and its ruling party plan to take a cue from Swapo’s change of top leadership, that country’s ambassador in Windhoek said on Tuesday.

Stanislaus Chigwedere said Swapo “has shown good maturity in the way they have handled transition” at the congress held at the weekend. “It is always difficult, of course, to have any transition.It is a painful process but it has been handled maturely,” said President Robert Mugabe’s representative.Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe and his party, Zanu PF, with an iron fist and is known for not brooking dissent.Talk of a successor to the octogenarian has been ongoing for nearly two decades with no changes in sight.Instead, a crackdown on opposition within and outside the party has crushed any dissent, with the latest targets being personal e-mails.Chigwedere said Swapo’s move was “actually good” for southern Africa.”We definitely are very keen, as friends of Swapo, to learn from Swapo and to learn from Namibia.We have always done that and we think it is something we should have a close look at and see how we can apply it to our own situation.”Swapo and Zanu PF have had close ties as anti-colonial political movements.Presidents Nujoma and Mugabe are considered the closest of allies to the extent that Nujoma has been dubbed ‘Mugabe Light’ [as in ‘light’ beer] by the media in South Africa.Algerian ambassador Mohamed Tefiani said that for Swapo to have opened up to competition within the party to replace the “father of the nation” was “a good experience and a good lesson for democracy”.Tefiani said the competition in the ruling party was even more remarkable coming after 14 years of independence, because “14 years in the life of a nation is nothing”.Meanwhile, National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) President Risto Kapenda said the union would support Swapo Vice President Hifikepunye Pohamba, who the Congress chose as the party’s presidential candidate for the November elections.”The people have spoken.As agreed, we will rally behind the candidate,” said Kapenda.The NUNW leadership tried to get all its 15 delegates to support one Swapo candidate believed to have been Hidipo Hamutenya, the axed Minister of Foreign Affairs who lost out to Pohamba.Researcher Graham Hopwood of the Institute for Public Policy Research said delegates opted to “vote for harmony in the party”, a reference to a public fall-out between President Nujoma and Hamutenya.Nujoma fired Hamutenya from the Cabinet, claiming that he had transgressed Swapo rules, a charge denied by Hamutenya.Political analyst Joseph Diesho said he hoped Nujoma or Pohamba would return Hamutenya to the Government as a senior Swapo leader.”It is always difficult, of course, to have any transition.It is a painful process but it has been handled maturely,” said President Robert Mugabe’s representative.Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe and his party, Zanu PF, with an iron fist and is known for not brooking dissent.Talk of a successor to the octogenarian has been ongoing for nearly two decades with no changes in sight.Instead, a crackdown on opposition within and outside the party has crushed any dissent, with the latest targets being personal e-mails.Chigwedere said Swapo’s move was “actually good” for southern Africa.”We definitely are very keen, as friends of Swapo, to learn from Swapo and to learn from Namibia.We have always done that and we think it is something we should have a close look at and see how we can apply it to our own situation.”Swapo and Zanu PF have had close ties as anti-colonial political movements.Presidents Nujoma and Mugabe are considered the closest of allies to the extent that Nujoma has been dubbed ‘Mugabe Light’ [as in ‘light’ beer] by the media in South Africa.Algerian ambassador Mohamed Tefiani said that for Swapo to have opened up to competition within the party to replace the “father of the nation” was “a good experience and a good lesson for democracy”.Tefiani said the competition in the ruling party was even more remarkable coming after 14 years of independence, because “14 years in the life of a nation is nothing”.Meanwhile, National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) President Risto Kapenda said the union would support Swapo Vice President Hifikepunye Pohamba, who the Congress chose as the party’s presidential candidate for the November elections.”The people have spoken.As agreed, we will rally behind the candidate,” said Kapenda.The NUNW leadership tried to get all its 15 delegates to support one Swapo candidate believed to have been Hidipo Hamutenya, the axed Minister of Foreign Affairs who lost out to Pohamba.Researcher Graham Hopwood of the Institute for Public Policy Research said delegates opted to “vote for harmony in the party”, a reference to a public fall-out between President Nujoma and Hamutenya.Nujoma fired Hamutenya from the Cabinet, claiming that he had transgressed Swapo rules, a charge denied by Hamutenya.Political analyst Joseph Diesho said he hoped Nujoma or Pohamba would return Hamutenya to the Government as a senior Swapo leader.