EDITORIAL: When history matters least
We know the pasts of Swapo and DTA, the precursor of modern-day Popular Democratic Movement (PDM). We also know their present. What we do not know is the future of our country under their leadership, should the voting masses hand them that mandate in 2024 and beyond.
As a result, the rhetorical war between the two parties last weekend, which had President Hage Geingob and McHenry Venaani in the vanguard of the battlefield, did little to address the numerous concerns hordes of anxious Namibians have about their everyday struggles to make ends meet.
Of course, both parties are suffering from the crisis of recognition. Swapo has a past that many have referred to as "patriotic", yet this history also contains traces of crime, which many cadres wish to conceal.
On the other hand, DTA had to rebrand in 2017 because the party was undoubtedly ashamed of its past. At the age of only two months, Venaani was firmly wrapped in nappies when DTA was formed in November 1977. Therefore, he cannot carry the cross of his forefathers who collaborated with the South African apartheid regime - although some will argue that he consciously joined a party whose history he knew like the back of his hand.
What is important in this moment is progress for our country. Political discourse ought to be anchored in the present and geared towards the future, because Namibians have been fed enough history and are now choking on it.
As a result, the rhetorical war between the two parties last weekend, which had President Hage Geingob and McHenry Venaani in the vanguard of the battlefield, did little to address the numerous concerns hordes of anxious Namibians have about their everyday struggles to make ends meet.
Of course, both parties are suffering from the crisis of recognition. Swapo has a past that many have referred to as "patriotic", yet this history also contains traces of crime, which many cadres wish to conceal.
On the other hand, DTA had to rebrand in 2017 because the party was undoubtedly ashamed of its past. At the age of only two months, Venaani was firmly wrapped in nappies when DTA was formed in November 1977. Therefore, he cannot carry the cross of his forefathers who collaborated with the South African apartheid regime - although some will argue that he consciously joined a party whose history he knew like the back of his hand.
What is important in this moment is progress for our country. Political discourse ought to be anchored in the present and geared towards the future, because Namibians have been fed enough history and are now choking on it.
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