A Swapo pot postscript

Dr Elijah Ngurare
This is Africa, where the pendulum of political speech is not always proportional to the tower of reality. A lot will be said and much more will remain unsaid because of fear and political expediency. Many in Africa will remain silent so long as the supply chain to the belly is undisturbed. Some fears are legitimate because of political elimination. It is well and good. But not everyone is a willing prisoner of conscience. Some will and must speak. They will and must write what they like. This is, therefore, what must be said for posterity, without fear or favour.
There is an unsaid reason why the rich continent of Africa, blessed with all mineral resources, is also home to skyrocketing and grinding poverty. It is a travesty of monumental proportions. The reason could be because we fear to partake in the tug-of-war called democracy, although in some cases, processes are manipulated. It can no longer be correct to be spectators forever.
It is in this context that as a member of Napwu, I gladly accepted the nomination to be part of their six delegates and candidates, together with a liberation veteran like Job Muniaro. We formed part of the 2019 Swapo Party Electoral College (or pot) on the ticket of the NUNW. It is not a surprise that the pot is always dominated by whomever programmes incumbent MPs and CC members. They constitute more than two-thirds of the 237 delegates. The NUNW, like some regions, joined the race late. We were at the mercy of those who decided the clock of approval. The list of preferred candidates was already circulating. The only surprise was to hear that we must not “be voted because we fell in the category of those to impeach the president”. This was the campaign tool. The criteria was therefore not about searching for competent, qualified and capable lawmakers, who could make a contribution to ‘Team Economic Recovery of Namibia’. It was not about how to find solutions to astronomical youth unemployment or how to unite Namibia around that common direction. On the contrary, it was about something else. Perhaps in future, regions must have their own pot. Perhaps in future the MPs and CC members should not be automatic delegates or candidates; they must have a platform to account for their preceding term performance. Thereafter, they should get nominated on merit from the CC or politburo as candidates to the pot.
The pot outcome is public knowledge. One could observe a sponsored celebration at the Safari Court Hotel, as the names were read of those who were successfully omitted from the preferred list of candidates. There were ululations for those who emerged as per the design. It is congratulations we must express. Laughable was the suggestion by somebody that the counting was electronically monitored and recorded. To effect what exactly, if you recorded the counting?
Let us celebrate victory. What is the victory? What is the defeat? Personally, I heartily want to thank those 84 delegates who risked all to cast a vote for me. That is victory. When a person follows conscience and not coercion, when a person follows principles and not pressure, when a person follows national interest and not nutritional interest, and vote for the one blacklisted. That is victory. If stalwarts of Swapo are punished, who am I to be spared?
The lingering question is this: Why participate in a contest where the outcome is manipulated in favour of a certain direction? Perhaps the answer should lie in this fact: Freedom of the mind is the mother of all freedoms. There must be a moment of mental freedom in which you think about the needs of a society and country for which so many have sacrificed, and in which so many are still struggling. You need not placate yourself in Independence Avenue, offering to make a contribution, but you may freely in good conscience partake in the activities of your political party. This is what motivated some of us to partake in the pot. It is for this reason that I would once again call upon all young professionals to get involved in practically shaping the socio-economic development of Namibia. I call upon you the geologists, engineers, teachers, nurses, marine biologists, lawyers, accountants and others to be active in the sections, branches, districts and regions of the Swapo Party structures. In your conspicuous absence, the vacuum will be filled by those without a licence to drive a car and those without a licence to pilot a plane. Examine your conscience and challenge your moral and political compass. What is to be done and why are you on the periphery of action, when you are called upon by circumstances to do something about the deteriorating economic conditions in Namibia? We did our part. Do your part. Finally, to the preferred candidates, we can suggest they consider solutions to youth unemployment by looking locally and globally, for example by entering into partnerships with international organisations and friendly nations, in order to seek job-placements for the trained Namibian professionals mentioned above. It can be done, and perhaps this should urgently be explored.