EDITORIAL: Swapo’s Mix fistfight sign of the times
Beyond jokes and memes on social media, the physical altercation that occurred at Mix Settlement on Saturday between an ordinary Swapo member and a party district coordinator is a serious indictment on the Swapo government.
The state of affairs in Mix is appallingly bad. How do our leaders go to bed knowing there is an entire community without a school for its children? People in that settlement, who are predominantly unemployed, require N$50 daily to access basic services – including ‘free’ education.
Then, leaders have the gall to drive up in their black Mercedes on a sunny Saturday and hope the people will sing along to the party’s "now hard work” slogan? Which hard work when an entire community is left to its own devices?
In the past, physical confrontations occurred between members of the ruling party and the opposition. On Saturday, it was a card-carrying member of Swapo who said he was fed up with the party’s neglect of Mix.
And because our leaders are so used to having their boots licked by ordinary citizens, Saturday’s voice of dissent shook them to their core. Instead of clapping hands and crawling in front of the emperors, one man demanded accountability.
And when the perfumed convoy from Windhoek didn’t have the answers, the man was asked to leave the meeting. How dare he ask questions instead of singing praise songs?
The violence that occurred must be condemned by all peace-loving Namibians. But where poverty and suffering are in short supply, peace is also just a pipe dream.
The state of affairs in Mix is appallingly bad. How do our leaders go to bed knowing there is an entire community without a school for its children? People in that settlement, who are predominantly unemployed, require N$50 daily to access basic services – including ‘free’ education.
Then, leaders have the gall to drive up in their black Mercedes on a sunny Saturday and hope the people will sing along to the party’s "now hard work” slogan? Which hard work when an entire community is left to its own devices?
In the past, physical confrontations occurred between members of the ruling party and the opposition. On Saturday, it was a card-carrying member of Swapo who said he was fed up with the party’s neglect of Mix.
And because our leaders are so used to having their boots licked by ordinary citizens, Saturday’s voice of dissent shook them to their core. Instead of clapping hands and crawling in front of the emperors, one man demanded accountability.
And when the perfumed convoy from Windhoek didn’t have the answers, the man was asked to leave the meeting. How dare he ask questions instead of singing praise songs?
The violence that occurred must be condemned by all peace-loving Namibians. But where poverty and suffering are in short supply, peace is also just a pipe dream.
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