SPYL draws Geingob in Unam battle

WINDHOEK FAITH SANKWASA

The Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) has claimed that the real reason behind University of Namibia (Unam) vice-chancellor, Professor Lazarus Hangula, attacking Health Minister Dr Richard Kamwi is that the academic is trying to gain the favour of Prime Minister Dr Hage Geingob.
In a thinly veiled statement released yesterday, SPYL spokesperson Job Amupanda clearly referred to last year's Swapo congress vice-president battle, won by Geingob, when he said Professor Hangula is captured by a bandwagon of attacking those who were on the other side of the river, in order to gain favours from the political triumphalist .
The SPYL statement follows a public roasting of Kamwi by Hangula who claims the minister is out to discredit Unam's medical school to cover up his own failure to address the country's ailing health system.
Another bone of contention is that Kamwi is involved in establishment of the envisioned, Welwitchia University, which is allegedly run by former Unam and Health Ministry staff poached by the minister.
Amupanda said it has became a practice of leading State institutions to demonstrate their loyalty, by launching scathing attacks on those who dared to exercise their democratic postures and different views in the 2012 political crusades .
Doing this apparently demonstrates their loyalty to 'The Prince' and makes them fashionable. He (Hangula) pusillanimously waited for the minister to leave for Geneva to accuse him of discrediting the institution. He, however, did not indicate the steps and efforts he took to resolve the purported contradictions between Unam and the minister.
Amupanda claimed that Hangula could have sought the intervention of Minister of Education, Dr David Namwandi, to mediate between himself and Kamwi.
He said Kamwi has not failed the health system, saying that Hangula should look at his faults, such as hiring expatriates, meritless close relatives and friends, at the expense of Namibians at Unam .
Amupanda said Unam administration had failed to build a hostel to accommodate more students, despite a tender being awarded five years ago to do so.
If the professor is indeed interested in genuinely resolving problems that Namibia faces, he must use platforms and processes made available by government, instead of behaving as if he were a newspaper columnist.
We remind the professor that while he is taking his turn in the bandwagon assembly line, Kamwi is attending the World Health Assembly (WHA), where Namibia is serving in its general committee for the first time since independence. We call on Namibians to dismiss the statement of Hangula.