SPYL bickering is unhealthy

The youth agenda is being neglected amid infighting and bickering in the Swapo Party Youth League, political commentators say. The SPYL leaders have been at each other’s throats for some time, and some expelled from the party are fighting their way back through the courts. A few years ago, the youth leaders were irking the elders in the party, addressing the generation gap and how to mend it. Today, the wing’s top leadership is divided into three factions: those who support former SPYL leader Elijah Ngurare, those who support acting youth leader and MP Veikko Nekundi, and those who find themselves in a grey area not knowing whom to support. The start It all started in 2012 when Swapo bigwigs Hage Geingob, Jerry Ekandjo and Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana were competing for the party’s vice-presidency and automatically becoming its presidential candidate for the 2014 elections. “What is being felt at the youth level started at the top echelons of the party. Things were not handled well at that level and this is now being experienced among the youth,” comments political analyst Hoze Riruako. At the time, the youth under Ngurare had thrown their weight behind Ekandjo as their preferred candidate. It is understood that Ngurare, former youth league spokesperson Job Amupanda and their followers started to doubt Nekundi’s loyalty after he secured the 46th spot in the party’s Central Committee election at the 2012 congress. The trust With that, Nekundi, who at the time was Ngurare’s deputy, earned the suspicion of his comrades. Today, with Ngurare and Amupanda expelled from the party for their involvement in and support of the Affirmative Repositioning movement, some of their loyalists remain in the wing’s National Executive Committee (NEC) and Central Committee (CC). Nekundi, who is the acting SPYL secretary after a bitter period of accusations and counter accusations, is accused of using his power to bully those not in his camp, while his rivals still in the system are frustrating and undermining his leadership. This was evident in the recent jostling and confusion over who should represent the youth wing on the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) structures. However, wing spokesperson Neville Andre yesterday explained that the SPYL NEC This after the wing was elected to serve on the five-member coordinating council as vice-president for the African region at WFDY’s General Council meeting in Russia. Unhealthy Riruako said: “It is unhealthy for the party and its cohesion, irrespective of the fact that Swapo is doing well during elections. “Any factionalism within the party will disrupt the normal flow of activities within it; it will widen division. Swapo should take cognisance of the fact many divisions among political parties start small and too insignificant for anyone to pay attention.” He said unless things are controlled and channelled in the right direction, they have a tendency of getting out of hand. Following Riruako there is one group in SPYL that clearly commands a great following among the youth and especially from Ngurare and Amupanda, while the other faction, seemingly that of Nekundi, is the leadership’s hope for restoring order within the structure. “This thing pitched the one youth against the other but any political party needs a united and vibrant youth to make inroads among new supporters who mainly are the young people. “A party needs a vibrant, strong and united youth. That is what Swapo does not have.” Riruako stressed, however, that it was not too late for the Swapo leadership to engage both sides of the divide. “The legal route is never the way and some people will be bruised. There is always a winner and loser.” Swallow pride Riruako said the youth and the party’s top leadership should swallow their pride and focus on conciliating the different factions. “If that is done, the youth will go back to the way it ought to be within Swapo. It is of paramount importance for Swapo to find peace. They must talk. “The problem is deep-rooted. The party should call itself to order and move away from the politics of ridiculing, name-calling, ostracising each other during internal electoral processes.” He stressed that the culture of “them against us” should be destroyed and removed from the party’s structures. “Before elections they go in as comrades and they come out as bitter comrades.” He said Swapo cannot preach democracy on one side and not practise it on the other. “They should not be brought to a level where they see each other as enemies. These processes should be mature and well guided.” ELVIS MURARANGANDA