LPM wants to transform society

JEMIMA BEUKES



WINDHOEK

The Landless People’s Movement (LPM) has indicated that it will engage the badly bruised Swapo to work on areas where their interests converge.

The party has also urged President Hage Geingob to work with them to appoint their choice of regional governors in //Karas and Hardap regions.

Swapo has lost its steady grip on a number of local authorities including the City of Windhoek council, where it held the majority for years. The ruling party has now settled with only five out of 15 seats.

This leaves the power to rule the council with the political opposition in the majority, most of whom have no intention to join hands with Swapo.

Time for politicking over

LPM leader Bernadus Swartbooi, himself a fierce critic of Swapo, has, however, said that the time for politicking is over and the party will engage with the ruling party and its government in a responsible and sensible manner.

This, he said, must be done with the single view to guarantee the smooth running of administration and service delivery.

“Elections come and go, but Namibians remain in the circumstances they were found before the elections. The idea is to change the lives of the people. We do not need to be antagonistic towards each other,” Swartbooi said.

He also added that people in informal settlements, disenfranchised and hungry, voted for both Swapo and LPM, which indicates that there is a convergence of economic issues.

With this in mind, it makes sense for LPM to work with the ruling party, he said.

“It does not mean we will be in a coalition with the ruling party. It means there are areas where we can sit down and work together. Where we cannot work together, we should not pretend.”

To be or not to be mayor

Although the LPM sees Affirmative Repositioning’s (AR) Job Amupanda as their “young brother”, the party has yet to decide whether they will throw their weight behind him as mayor of the City of Windhoek.

Swartbooi argued that the issue of who will ascend to the position of mayor has been trivialised by some political movements.

“This is very serious. I wish people would take, for once, the discussion about the City of Windhoek very seriously. This thing of serious discussions being reduced to who will be mayor or who will be chairperson is dangerous and has prevented political parties before from working together,” he said.

The LPM leader added that they have good relations with the AR, adding that they are in the business of transforming society and take talks of coalitions very seriously.

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