I would like to comment and shed light on some of the assertions made by Gwen Lister in her Political Perspective published in the Namibian on August 8, 2014. In her opening paragraph, she describes politicians belonging to the ruling SWAPO Party of being complacent and nonchalant. According to her, they only wait for the election time to pass before they fall back into perpetual complacency. She said the following about ruling party politicians, “And politicians of the ruling party are always inordinately pleased with themselves once polling time is done and dusted because it means they have licence to another four years of doing as they please without having to put in much effort as their “mandate” has been secured and, participatory democracy be damned, voters will just have to take what they dish out until next time.” We have always said that we are building a nation, characterized by peace, democracy and to improve the quality of life of the people of Namibia to the level of their counterparts in the developed world by the year 2030 as highlighted in Namibia’s Vision 2030. All of us, whether politicians or newspaper editors have to be responsible about how we project ourselves and guard against advocating our personal cause against the expense of the national cause. It is said that the pen is mightier than the sword and by the look of things, our newspapers are well aware of this fact as they are transforming from being watchdogs to lapdogs. Newspaper editors seem to know it all. They are perfect, knowledgeable and seemingly in daily touch with the masses. They speak with the authority of those who know the pulse of the masses and if the masses are voting for SWAPO then they are accused of being dimwitted. This is an insult to the intelligence of the very masses whom they claim to speak for. I have always wondered where some of these newspaper editors get their contact with the masses since their writings are littered with the very paternalistic and arrogant tone which they accuse ruling party politicians of displaying. Apparently these masses have engaged in feeble protests at lack of consultation. I assure you that these “feeble protesters” can in no way belong to the ruling party. The journalists and opposition obviously have not been let in on the secret of the SWAPO Party. This secret is what has made SWAPO the most “in touch” party amongst the masses from the city streets to the grassroots. SWAPO Party politicians are the busiest politicians in the country. I have participated in numerous town hall meetings for several months now and at which the masses have had an opportunity to engage with politicians, make comments on issues of national importance, make proposals and engage in informed debates. The SWAPO Party has put in place a well-oiled machinery characterized by structures at national, regional and district level. SWAPO has coordinators, treasurers and other district mobilizers and holds regular Central Committee meetings which last for a full day. The SWAPO Party Politburo meets regularly to execute and formulate new policies. Is it SWAPO’s fault that other political parties lack the political prowess or support to put up such structures? SWAPO politicians are in touch with the masses and do not need to put on a three day show in a shack to prove that. It seems some newspapers are too busy being hoodwinked by certain politicians and they failed to report the highly successful SWAPO Party consultative meetings which took place in the North over the past week. And since some are talking of participatory democracy being damned, let me say that Participatory Democracy originated in Ancient Greece. When the Greek City States grew in population, the masses refrained from exercising their sovereignty and bestowed their sovereignty to elected officials for a period of five years based on that politician’s manifesto which they had bought into. If some think that the constitutional amendments are being rushed through then make it an election issue. If you are in touch with the masses then convince them not to vote for SWAPO. It is said that a principle half compromised is a compromised principle. Consultative meetings were held with all political parties under my Chairmanship after they had responded positively to my letters of invitation. On many occasions these meetings lasted well into the night and the Honourable members of these political parties debated and agreed on many issues. Their inputs were well received and incorporated into the amendments. I even went to the extent of informing each and all the members of the various parties that these meetings were consultations and not information sharing meeting. To turn around after that process and to say that you do not support these amendments is completely hypocritical. We engaged everyone in the spirit of consultation and now will be forced to remove their contributions. The fact of the matter is the issue of the dominance of executive power in the National Assembly is due to the opposition’s failure to make inroads politically. Many of them are there on the remainder principal for example SWANU with less than 1%. What mandate do they have? SWAPO with 72% has an absolute mandate. You cannot accuse democracy in this instance. Lastly, where do the NGO’s derive their mandate from? SWAPO has a clear cut mandate but should now have to bear the brunt of being berated by failed politicians who lacked the skill to succeed politically and want to come in through the backdoor. In the USA NGO’s and lobbyists are issued based but in Namibia they are everything based. Who gives them that mandate? I would like to finish off by saying that we who come from the Malcom X School never use the word blackmail. For us it is whitemail. The masses are not fools and will never be whitemailed.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 17:27:15 +0000
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