EDITORIAL: Unity in divisive times
27 July 2021 | Opinion
Windhoek is at a crossroads. Political egos are at play and battle lines have been drawn.
Residents are waiting with bated breath on the fate of their capital, which descended into opposition hands last November thanks to chronic pillage by Swapo comrades whose dealings only helped widen the gap between the city’s poor and their affluent co-residents from the eastern side of the railway.
When Swapo failed to find solutions to the increasing squalor in the city’s slums, faith in the party still prevailed. But you can only get away with murder up to a particular point. You can run, but there comes a moment when you can no longer hide behind the naked reality of chronic underperformance.
A new dawn descended on Windhoek, but eight months into the marriage of convenience that is the ruling coalition – and of course its minority partners – cracks have widened to lengths never before contemplated.
Desperate attempts have been made to pour cold water on the obvious partisan divisions, but the soap opera has continued unabated. It’s Comedy Central stuff!
This is the sternest test of character for everyone involved. Those in charge were not voted for political rehearsals. People ditched Swapo out of desperation, for a new lease on life. And while eight months is not enough time to judge the new dispensation’s performance, the current cut-throat and dog-eats-dog gimmicks are more than sufficient to eat away at the crumbs of progress made so far.
Residents are waiting with bated breath on the fate of their capital, which descended into opposition hands last November thanks to chronic pillage by Swapo comrades whose dealings only helped widen the gap between the city’s poor and their affluent co-residents from the eastern side of the railway.
When Swapo failed to find solutions to the increasing squalor in the city’s slums, faith in the party still prevailed. But you can only get away with murder up to a particular point. You can run, but there comes a moment when you can no longer hide behind the naked reality of chronic underperformance.
A new dawn descended on Windhoek, but eight months into the marriage of convenience that is the ruling coalition – and of course its minority partners – cracks have widened to lengths never before contemplated.
Desperate attempts have been made to pour cold water on the obvious partisan divisions, but the soap opera has continued unabated. It’s Comedy Central stuff!
This is the sternest test of character for everyone involved. Those in charge were not voted for political rehearsals. People ditched Swapo out of desperation, for a new lease on life. And while eight months is not enough time to judge the new dispensation’s performance, the current cut-throat and dog-eats-dog gimmicks are more than sufficient to eat away at the crumbs of progress made so far.
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