SPYL wants Hage unopposed

The Swapo Party Youth League wants President Hage Geingob to run unopposed for continuity's sake when the ruling party holds its elective congress towards the end of the year.

Acting SPYL secretary Veikko Nekundi said this was one of the recommendations taken at Saturday's central committee meeting.

The gathering was marked by the absence of some CC members, many of whom are loyal to youth leader Elijah Ngurare.

At the weekend some of the absent CC members used social media to voice their dissatisfaction with Saturday's meeting, claiming it was unconstitutional and could be challenged in court.

“[The] Central Committee also deliberated on the matter of election of the president of the Swapo Party, it therefore endorsed the maintenance of one centre of power in respect to the presidency, therefore, endorsing the position of the president to be [uncontested] in order to [preserve] the unity and continuity,” Nekundi said in a statement.

The meeting, which according to Nekundi was attended by 37 of the 47 members of the SPYL CC, also endorsed candidates for the positions of secretary and deputy secretary ahead of the youth league's elective congress in August.

National Youth Council executive chairperson Mandela Kapere was nominated for the secretary position along with Ephraim Nekongo and Mirjam Nghidipo.

Christine Haindaka, Mogale Karimbue and Immanuel Shikongo were nominated for the deputy secretary position.

One of the CC members who boycotted the Saturday meeting, Sioni Iikela, complained that the meeting was illegal and not sanctioned by the national executive committee. Iikela had in the past indicated that he was willing to stand for the SPYL secretary position.

“No shortcuts and manipulations of processes leading to SPYL 6th Congress slated for later this year. How can CC nominate candidates before processes finish down the structures, what if regions will produce different candidates? What happened at illegal CC meeting of yesterday [Saturday] that was not sanctioned by NEC did not happen before in the history of SPYL. This is the urination of the SPYL constitution (sic),” he said on his Facebook profile.





Some members of the central committee indicated that they would challenge last weekend's sitting while Ngurare has called the meeting unconstitutional.

“There is no way you can call a meeting without the NEC having met. There must be a meeting of the NEC. The central committee meetings are called by the NEC,” he said.

Casting doubt on last weekend's meeting, he asked: “When was the NEC meeting? That answer is not there and it goes to show that it cannot be correct that you just bring in people and convene a central committee meeting. They must just hold a proper meeting that must start with the NEC.”

When asked about the legitimacy of the central committee meeting held, Nekundi said: “The central committee meeting is an internal matter and I shall not respond on party matters through the media.”

SPYL will convene in the Zambezi Region from 24 to 26 August to choose a new youth league leadership.



Nujoma holiday

Meanwhile, the youth league has reiterated its call to have 12 May declared as a public holiday in honour of Namibia's Founding President Sam Nujoma.

Nujoma was born on 12 May 1929 and at the weekend celebrated his 88th birthday at his Etunda farm outside Otavi. Nekundi said the youth league's CC meeting recommended that 12 May should be adopted as an official public holiday “in order to acknowledge the contribution of Dr Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma, Founding President and Father of the Namibian Nation to the development and progress of Namibia.”

This is not the first time that the SPYL is making such calls. In 2015, youth leader Elijah Ngurare pleaded with President Hage Geingob to consider declaring 12 May as a national holiday.

“If we do not honour our heroes no one will do it for us. You can worship all others over the world but there is only one leader that has freed and liberated us,” Ngurare was quoted as saying.

OGONE TLHAGE