The significance of Swapo's new headquarters
Hosea Neumbo Shishiveni
The ultimate goal of Swapo was to unite the Namibian people into one solid political organisation capable of confronting the South African occupation regime.
The party persistently mobilised and organised the broad masses of the Namibian people and they heeded to the call and actively participated in the national liberation struggle.
After a long and bitter struggle of blood, sweat and tears, Swapo defeated the enemy and Namibia gained its independence.
Having brought what we call independence to our beloved country, Swapo never had a beautiful home. The independence and national peace we brag about resulted from the sacrifices of our freedom fighters whose blood watered our freedom.
Swapo brought us all sorts of liberties we are enjoying countrywide. If we look at all 14 regions, Swapo merely has small buildings that replicate offices. This resulted to series of questions of why it has been so for the past 30 years. If we compare all the headquarters of the revolutionary parties that fought against imperialism across SADC or the entire Africa, you would vividly notice that Swapo is the only revolutionary party without a beautiful home.
Employment creation
The minority criticised the construction of the new headquarters for Swapo. The criticisers are the same people who complain about lack of employment in the country, forgetting that the enormous building could provide jobs to several graduates who are sitting at home with their qualifications.
Namibia has thousands of unemployed graduates from different tertiary institutions who are seeking employment opportunities. Hopefully the party will have a look at that with the option to curb the high unemployment rate in the country. The nation is crying for development, at the same time they are criticising the massive project that would provide a scenic view in the city. If we are to talk about museums, Swapo is one of the organisations that deserves a national depository. Swapo should have a museum necessitating all the details or information about the struggle era that our grandfathers and grandmothers endured through. The history of the struggle shall not elapse; it shall, however, be passed from generations to generations. The massive building few condemned will serve all those purposes. Swapo is our heritage, our identity and our history.
'The enemy is still watching'
I firmly believe that the nation has the right to condemn the multimillion-dollar building while we have thousands of Namibians who go to bed on empty stomachs. However, the nation should never take the freedom Swapo brought us for granted. The nation should rather appreciate what Swapo did and figure out a means that would see the country at its best again. Namibians should also not forget that the enemy is still watching us, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Would it still be a problem if the party commenced with the project 20 years ago? Is it only a problem now because the current leadership has decided to do it? The majority of those who opposed Swapo new headquarters took advantage of the current situation the country is in. What if the country was still doing better, would they still oppose it?
Uniting the nation
Liberation stalwart comrade Nahas Angula clearly outlined and underpinned the core principles of Swapo, which are self-sacrifice, sharing and caring.
He continued saying among its goals, the party aims to unite the Namibian nation, regardless of race, religion, gender or ethnic origin; to foster a common purpose and collective destiny among the Namibian people; to combat retrogressive tendencies of tribalism, ethnicity, nepotism, racism, chauvinism, regionalism and personality cult; to implant in the Namibian people a spirit of patriotism; to improve and develop Namibia as well as to fight poverty and diseases and ensure that Namibians are educated.
Swapo has reached a milestone in comparison to how the country was before independence and after independence in terms of road networks and so on.
However, a lot still need to be done such as the construction of schools and healthcare facilities, mostly in rural areas as well as supplying shanty towns and rural areas with clean tap water and power and, most importantly, job creation.
Swapo maintained peace and stability, unlike in some of the neighbouring countries where there are still ongoing tensions of political instabilities and xenophobia taking place.
*Hosea Neumbo Shishiveni is from Omusati Region and is a member of Swapo Party Youth League.
The ultimate goal of Swapo was to unite the Namibian people into one solid political organisation capable of confronting the South African occupation regime.
The party persistently mobilised and organised the broad masses of the Namibian people and they heeded to the call and actively participated in the national liberation struggle.
After a long and bitter struggle of blood, sweat and tears, Swapo defeated the enemy and Namibia gained its independence.
Having brought what we call independence to our beloved country, Swapo never had a beautiful home. The independence and national peace we brag about resulted from the sacrifices of our freedom fighters whose blood watered our freedom.
Swapo brought us all sorts of liberties we are enjoying countrywide. If we look at all 14 regions, Swapo merely has small buildings that replicate offices. This resulted to series of questions of why it has been so for the past 30 years. If we compare all the headquarters of the revolutionary parties that fought against imperialism across SADC or the entire Africa, you would vividly notice that Swapo is the only revolutionary party without a beautiful home.
Employment creation
The minority criticised the construction of the new headquarters for Swapo. The criticisers are the same people who complain about lack of employment in the country, forgetting that the enormous building could provide jobs to several graduates who are sitting at home with their qualifications.
Namibia has thousands of unemployed graduates from different tertiary institutions who are seeking employment opportunities. Hopefully the party will have a look at that with the option to curb the high unemployment rate in the country. The nation is crying for development, at the same time they are criticising the massive project that would provide a scenic view in the city. If we are to talk about museums, Swapo is one of the organisations that deserves a national depository. Swapo should have a museum necessitating all the details or information about the struggle era that our grandfathers and grandmothers endured through. The history of the struggle shall not elapse; it shall, however, be passed from generations to generations. The massive building few condemned will serve all those purposes. Swapo is our heritage, our identity and our history.
'The enemy is still watching'
I firmly believe that the nation has the right to condemn the multimillion-dollar building while we have thousands of Namibians who go to bed on empty stomachs. However, the nation should never take the freedom Swapo brought us for granted. The nation should rather appreciate what Swapo did and figure out a means that would see the country at its best again. Namibians should also not forget that the enemy is still watching us, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Would it still be a problem if the party commenced with the project 20 years ago? Is it only a problem now because the current leadership has decided to do it? The majority of those who opposed Swapo new headquarters took advantage of the current situation the country is in. What if the country was still doing better, would they still oppose it?
Uniting the nation
Liberation stalwart comrade Nahas Angula clearly outlined and underpinned the core principles of Swapo, which are self-sacrifice, sharing and caring.
He continued saying among its goals, the party aims to unite the Namibian nation, regardless of race, religion, gender or ethnic origin; to foster a common purpose and collective destiny among the Namibian people; to combat retrogressive tendencies of tribalism, ethnicity, nepotism, racism, chauvinism, regionalism and personality cult; to implant in the Namibian people a spirit of patriotism; to improve and develop Namibia as well as to fight poverty and diseases and ensure that Namibians are educated.
Swapo has reached a milestone in comparison to how the country was before independence and after independence in terms of road networks and so on.
However, a lot still need to be done such as the construction of schools and healthcare facilities, mostly in rural areas as well as supplying shanty towns and rural areas with clean tap water and power and, most importantly, job creation.
Swapo maintained peace and stability, unlike in some of the neighbouring countries where there are still ongoing tensions of political instabilities and xenophobia taking place.
*Hosea Neumbo Shishiveni is from Omusati Region and is a member of Swapo Party Youth League.
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