Beware the juggernaut

The opposition in Namibia have their work cut out for them.

As in other election years, there is nothing on the horizon that makes one believe that they will be up to the task of trimming Swapo’s support levels significantly. Having said that, there are opportunities to exploit, given there are signs that all is not well within the ruling party. The unfolding pockets of defiance at local authority level and a court case challenging the outcome of the 2017 Swapo elective congress are among the flanks of attack that are available to the opposition. So too are the unfolding battles over access to government coffers and positions in the state. But besides the politics there is a need to engage constructively around the challenges of the day. It is wholesale in the interest of opposition politicians to turn their election campaigns into platforms on which they grapple with the major battles faced by ordinary Namibians every day. They must, in fact, do more than that - they must present solutions or at least raise debate when it comes to solving these issues. It remains to be seen whether the opposition in Namibia can move the political terrain away from so-called struggle credentials to a playing field on which they force Swapo to engage in an issue-based battle. The other worrying issue for opposition parties remains funding. When the Swapo juggernaut, probably funded with Chinese, Russian and other funds, kicks into gear, money will be needed to compete in the same space. That is why it is critical that the opposition re-raise the debate around the disclosure of political funders and donors, so that the electorate is informed about who are actually the lobbyists that give money, especially to the ruling party. The public may be very surprised if they ever get their hands on a list of those actually funding Swapo and others ahead of polls; this veil needs to be pierced so that we understand whose interest parties are actually representing, while claiming to represent us.