By Clemens Kashuupulwa
Since the election of President Hifikepunye Pohamba as the President of the Republic of Namibia in 2004, there have been serious allegations against the founding father of the Namibian Nation, Dr Sam Nujoma, that he is “remote controlling” the State President, Hon. Hifikepunye Pohamba in running the affairs of the country.
This political agenda has been fabricated by some opportunists in Namibia to create the impression that Dr Nujoma is still running the government and thereby creating political discomfort for President Pohamba to rule Namibia.
Many innocent people have been misled to believe in this propaganda as appropriate information was not given to differentiate how the SWAPO Party led government and its party leadership work to engage in the development process of the country.
It is high time now that we make our people understand better the complementary role played by the SWAPO Party leadership and its government so as to participate fully in the development process of the country under the leadership of the SWAPO Party government.
Namibia is a multi-party democratic system in which all political parties have the right to contest for the presidency in a presidential election in which “every citizen of Namibia by birth or descent, who is over the age of 35 years and who is eligible to be elected to Office as a member of the National Assembly shall be eligible for election as President”.
In order for the President, Members of parliament and other political office-bearers to be democratically elected in any country, registered political parties in a multi-party democratic social order have to come up with their Party Election Manifestos.
In Namibia, an Election Manifesto is a 5-Year Plan of Action for the development of the country during the course of the term of office of the President, Members of Parliament, both the National Assembly and National Council, as well as of other political office-bearers in a period of time as indicated by the Constitution of Namibia.
Since independence, the SWAPO Party Election Manifesto has been overwhelmingly accepted by the Namibian electorate over other manifestos as a nationally acceptable plan of action that can take Namibia to economic prosperity.
It is against this background that the SWAPO Party has been mandated for the past 17 years to rule Namibia to pursue its national commitment “to peace, unity, security, progress, economic growth, sustainable development and prosperity with equity and social justice”.
The question of “remote controlling” the President by the Founding President or by who-ever, is misleading and non-existent in Namibia.
The magic of the SWAPO Party to lead Namibia for the past few years and for many years to come is vested in the Namibian electorate, as the SWAPO Party is the people and the people are SWAPO Party.
It sounds like political rhetoric when one questions the rationale behind this political argument, but practically that is the logic behind the SWAPO Party to win the “hearts and minds” of the electorate to vote it into power.
This means that decisions in the SWAPO Party led government are taken collectively at section, branch, district, regional, political bureau, central committee and party congress levels after careful discussions and proper consultations with members of the party.
It is not a one-man/woman show. It is the people that take decisions in all circumstances leading to the management of the affairs of the SWAPO Party led government on a participatory basis.
In the case of the President running the country on a five-year term of office, the SWAPO Party is always guided and directed by its Party Election Manifesto that is discussed and agreed upon in its various structures for implementation.
Currently, the government is implementing the SWAPO Party Manifesto of 2004. This means that all line ministries have incorporated the SWAPO Party Election Manifesto Plan of Action in their development agendas to become national projects and programmes that form the National Development Plan [NDP2] as reviewed into NDP3 for implementation up to the next national elections in 2009.
In other words, even if President Pohamba reshuffled certain ministries, where they will be reshuffled they will continue to implement the existing SWAPO Party Election Manifesto.
However, the possibility to come up with new approaches and development strategies cannot be ruled out.
But this must not be understood that such implementation is done on remote control by the outgoing minister(s). It is factually incorrect to conclude that the incumbent President Pohamba is “remote controlled” by the former President, Dr Sam Nujoma.
Dr Nujoma put it correctly recently that he “had been at the helm of SWAPO Party for almost five decades and the greater part of those years were difficult years of protracted armed liberation struggle which was won and the successes achieved were made possible through collective contributions of the entire leadership of SWAPO Party”.
President Pohamba also put it correctly when he referred “that the successes attained so far in the development process of Namibia was done by a SWAPO Party led government” and not by him alone.
These achievements were done because of the collective efforts of the entire leadership under the administration of the former President and subsequently of the incumbent President.
Even if there could be failures in the development process of Namibia under the SWAPO-Party led government, these cannot be blamed on the President in person alone. Hence, it must now be understood clearly that it is not Dr Nujoma who “remote controls” President Pohamba during the term of the office since 2004.
This is factually not correct in the sense that the SWAPO Party-led government is ruling Namibia on the basis of its Party Election Manifesto, focusing on collective leadership with public participation in decision-making processes central to the development of the country in all spheres of life.
The magic behind this approach is that the SWAPO Party led government is a government of the people, by the people and for the people.
We as a people are guided and directed by the policies of the government to manage development capital projects and programmes on short, medium and long-term strategies through which the party and its government administer the country well under its Party Election Manifesto through other tested leaders towards Vision 2030.
All SWAPO Party leaders have always been guided by the SWAPO Party Election Manifesto Plan of Action.
It is thus wrong to twist facts to create false impressions in Namibia that President Pohamba “is remote controlled” by the Founding Father of the Namibian Nation, Dr Sam Nujoma.
The incumbent President is in fact administering the government to implement the SWAPO-Party Election Manifesto under the already existing policies, guidelines and programmes of action of the SWAPO-Party led government.
– Clemens H. Kashuupulwa is the Governor of Oshana Region and member of the Central Committee of SWAPO Party.