Swapo not corrupt, arrogant – Nicanor
OGONE TLHAGE
WINDHOEK
Swapo's secretary for information and mobilisation, Hilma Nicanor, has denied notions that the party is corrupt and arrogant.
These accusations simply boiled down to agendas being pushed against the party, she said.
Nicanor made the comments following the ruling party's poor show in the local and regional elections held late last month.
Swapo saw its power being wrested away in Windhoek, Swakopmund, Walvis Bay and Keetmanshoop, and will now have to play second fiddle to opposition parties in these local authorities.
Agenda driven
“Swapo is accused of being corrupt, the Fishrot issue, the arrogance… To me, these are but agendas. When we say that the Swapo party is not a corrupt party, Swapo party has nothing to do with Fishrot and now being added is arrogance of the party leaders,” Nicanor said.
Swapo, like other liberation movements within Africa, is being targeted in agenda-driven moves meant to cripple its hold on government, she reasoned.
“We know that as a former liberation movement, and as a party with a track record, we are being targeted. That much we know. The party leadership has been on the record on the issue of corruption and corruption is something that the party has never condoned.”
Individual corruption
Swapo secretary-general Sophia Shaningwa has also previously spoken out against alleged corruption within Swapo.
“These people, the political opponents of Swapo, always call our party and our government corrupt. Swapo and the government of Namibia are not corrupt, but who is corrupt are perhaps individuals. And if an individual is corrupt, the law will take its course,” she told the gathering of about 400 party supporters.
In November 2019, justice minister Sacky Shanghala, a rising star in Swapo, and his fisheries counterpart Bernhardt Esau were arrested for allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for fishing quotas.
The two ruling party politicians remain behind bars a year later, awaiting trial.
The Bank of Namibia last month said it had detected Fishrot-related transactions worth N$10 billion. Last year, education minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa had to resign after she was convicted of corruption.
“We have to deal with people who are corrupt. If the secretary-general is corrupt, deal with the secretary-general, but don't say that Swapo is corrupt,” Shaningwa emphasised.
WINDHOEK
Swapo's secretary for information and mobilisation, Hilma Nicanor, has denied notions that the party is corrupt and arrogant.
These accusations simply boiled down to agendas being pushed against the party, she said.
Nicanor made the comments following the ruling party's poor show in the local and regional elections held late last month.
Swapo saw its power being wrested away in Windhoek, Swakopmund, Walvis Bay and Keetmanshoop, and will now have to play second fiddle to opposition parties in these local authorities.
Agenda driven
“Swapo is accused of being corrupt, the Fishrot issue, the arrogance… To me, these are but agendas. When we say that the Swapo party is not a corrupt party, Swapo party has nothing to do with Fishrot and now being added is arrogance of the party leaders,” Nicanor said.
Swapo, like other liberation movements within Africa, is being targeted in agenda-driven moves meant to cripple its hold on government, she reasoned.
“We know that as a former liberation movement, and as a party with a track record, we are being targeted. That much we know. The party leadership has been on the record on the issue of corruption and corruption is something that the party has never condoned.”
Individual corruption
Swapo secretary-general Sophia Shaningwa has also previously spoken out against alleged corruption within Swapo.
“These people, the political opponents of Swapo, always call our party and our government corrupt. Swapo and the government of Namibia are not corrupt, but who is corrupt are perhaps individuals. And if an individual is corrupt, the law will take its course,” she told the gathering of about 400 party supporters.
In November 2019, justice minister Sacky Shanghala, a rising star in Swapo, and his fisheries counterpart Bernhardt Esau were arrested for allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for fishing quotas.
The two ruling party politicians remain behind bars a year later, awaiting trial.
The Bank of Namibia last month said it had detected Fishrot-related transactions worth N$10 billion. Last year, education minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa had to resign after she was convicted of corruption.
“We have to deal with people who are corrupt. If the secretary-general is corrupt, deal with the secretary-general, but don't say that Swapo is corrupt,” Shaningwa emphasised.
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article