Struggle against gender violence, corruption and poverty has reached a point of no return

By Nkrumah Mushelenga

PART 2

A lot of has been said about corrupt practices, raping of infants and children, killing of women and baby dumping. On the contrary, little is being done to address the root causes.

The curiosity question is why are there so many stories on the above subject matters after 30 years of independence?

• Does it mean that there were no corrupt practices taking place in Namibia? There were incidents of corruption, but no freedom of speech during colonial time.

• The synonyms of the word corruption are; dishonest, exploitation, bribery and fraud.

• Should the Namibian people believe that there were no minority groups before 21st March 1990 in this country? If they were there, under what social economic conditions were they living in before 21st March 1990 as compared to 30 years of independence?

• Does it mean the majority tribes were only created soon after independence 21st March 1990? Certainly not.

• According to the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, tribe refers to a group people often of related families, who live together, sharing the same language, culture and history.

Article 11 of the SWAPO Party constitution defines SWAPO as a mass based political party born and steeled in the crucible of a popular and heroic struggle for national independence.

It is founded on the principles of democracy, solidarity, freedom, social justice and progress. This simple means SWAPO was never, and has never been, and will never be a tribal party.

Why? Because SWAPO membership is open to every Namibian citizen and is being generated from all tribal groupings throughout the country.

We vow to jealously safeguard the party preamble because it is inclusive of yesterday, today and tomorrow’s destiny.

1. It depicts the Namibian people’s victory from the struggle against colonialism;

2. Namibia’s rightful place among the free nations and as a sovereign State:

3. The establishment of a democratic political system and the role of political parties from the back burner;

4. It describes a political party as an important agency in a modern society for the articulation of society’s aspirations, developmental goals, objectives, and political communication for the training of future political leaders;

5. It refers to the process of democratisation of the Namibian society and elimination from it of the pernicious remains of apartheid has been achieved;

6. It educates us about Namibians’ strong desire to strengthen the unity of the nation and the independence of the country through common consensus of democratic values and patriotism;

7. It focuses on the mobilisation of the productive energies of the masses of the Namibian people in the reconstruction of our society; and;

8. It refers to the exploitation of one person by another, individually or as a class, including gender inequality, as unacceptable in an independent and democratic Namibia.

It is thus befitting to commend the party national leadership and indeed the rank and file of the party for their hardwork, the spirit of no surrender and for maintaining unity in the party during the protracted liberation struggle and soon after March 21 1990, and indeed for producing the everlasting party aims and objectives.

The aims and objectives call for party members to;

• unite the people of Namibia, irrespective of race, religion, sex or ethnic origin, into a democratic, vibrant and peace loving nation;

• defend and protect Namibia’s hard-won freedom and independence;

• foster a sense of common purpose and collective destiny among the Namibian people;

• combat retrogressive tendencies of tribalism, ethnicity, nepotism, racism, sexism, chauvinism, regionalism, personality cult and strive to achieve gender equality in all structures of the party;

• instill in the Namibian people a spirit of patriotism and to develop in them the consciousness that they are the masters of their own destiny;

• educate the people to uphold, with honour and pride, Namibia’s emblem which constitutes the symbols of the country’s sovereignty, the constitution, the national flag, the national anthem, the coat of arms, etc;

• promote the development of the culture of the Namibian people through the reconstruction of the nation system of education, the encouragement of cultural exchange with other nations as well as through incentives to Namibians who show potential for technological and artistic creativity;

• ensure that Namibia works on the one hand, in close cooperation with other African states, to advance the cause of African unity and, with all other states to promote world peace and security, on the other;

• fight underdevelopment, poverty illiteracy and disease;

• promote accelerated economic development and;

• promote self-reliance and the upliftment of the standard of living of the vast majority of the Namibian people.

President Hage G. Geingob declared war against poverty while the party 2020-2025 manifesto theme is about ‘Inclusive development and shared Prosperity’. Oohailwa, shili metiti Omuukuluntu eshitulamo’. SWAPO leadership is aware of the social economic challenges facing the Namibian people from all works of life. However, we should admit that Rome was not built overnight.

Where there is a will there is always a way.

With regards to issues related to women versus men; we believe that women are our biological mothers while men are our biological fathers. There is a strong biological value on either side and mind you with age comes wisdom.

Minority and majority; we are all protected by Chapter 3 of the Constitution of Namibia.

‘Work for comrades’ is a politicking view aimed at tarnishing the image of the SWAPO party government. Both comrades and non-comrades are all protected by Chapter 3 of the Constitution. It is however true, that we fought for democracy, but it is also not true that democracy means ungovernable.

If this deliberate designed rumour of ‘work for comrades’ is not timely and legitimately addressed by the portfolio ministry, it can exacerbate antagonism between the innocent (veterans) and the authors of the stories.

Compatriots, the foundation of trust and unity is cracking and it is yearning for renovations.

The current unhealthy relationship between some members of the public and the heroes of the liberation struggle is a cause of concern to the veterans.

We fought for the liberation of this country and history has it that we are the heroes and heroines of the liberation struggle. We need peace and a dignified retirement.

November 2020 regional and local authority elections are going to be a defining moment in the history of an independent Namibia.

What is particularly important now is for the veterans, youth and elders from all walks of life to stand together and vote for SWAPO. Remember this with regards to the November Regional and Local Authority Elections,

• We wish for the Regional and Local Council Elections to take place in a free and fair environment.

• We further wish political parties, associations, independent candidates and voters, peaceful and cordial political relations during and after elections.

• Elections are like sports, and in any sports event there is always a winner and a loser.

• Parties: It is the duty of individual party presidents and secretary generals, leaders of associations and independent candidates to ensure that their members adhere to disciplinary procedures to prevent or reduce election related disputes.

We look forward to peaceful and successful Regional Local Council elections 2020.

OoHailwaa! omukulugwonale okwaatile, ‘nekwa lya tsima oye ngaa nyoko’ Ye tatinatango, ‘Shiili metiti omukuluntu eshitulamo’.

‘With age comes wisdom’.

May God bless Namibia, the land of the brave!

Nkrumah Mushelenga is a Rtd. Commissioner for Refugees, NNLVA National Coordinator and Founder of PNPCVT.