New blood versus old guard

President Hage Geingob boldly stated at the United Nations General Assembly last week that Namibia values empowerment of the youth, adding the old guard, commonly referred to as the Tanganyikas, would leave very soon to make way for fresh and youthful politicians. After 27 years of freedom, both the political and administrative bureaucracy continues to be dominated by the old set of leaders. Many are revolutionaries in their own right who have contributed immensely to our struggle. However, there are those who think that they are simply irreplaceable - like some our continental leaders. Statesmen like Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe believe they are the only people to lead their respective nations. These leaders, and many others, have continued to cling to power for many years now and we can ill-afford to go this route. The time has come to reflect on whether we have done everything possible in ensuring there is a smooth transfer of power to the so-called young blood. From a political point of view we don't see this happening as yet. The old guard are still elevated to top posts based on tenure and seniority. The ruling party does not appear to have any programme in place that gradually allows the young people to take over. This assertion is confirmed in both the make-up of the politburo and the top-four leadership of the ruling party. We have said before that Swapo must move with the times and it is clear that it is no longer relevant to keep some archaic and obsolete traditions alive. In fact, we are yet to see a rush of older politicians announcing their intention to stand down. There must fresh blood in the top echelons of the party in order to reflect the young people of this country. There must be an opportunity for young people to lead municipalities and run in local and regional authority elections. The youth are now at the forefront of economic warfare, they constitute 60% of the voting power in general elections and yet there is no special place reserved for them on the high table.