Written by Kiangiosekazi Wa-Nyoka
LAST week, some African leaders
converged in Windhoek, Namibia to witness the much needed smooth and
peaceful handing over of power from the outgoing President Hifikepunye
Lucas Pohamba to the incoming Dr Hage Geingob.
There were more than eight hundred
invited guests from outside the country including Tanzania, which was
well represented by President Jakaya Kikwete and the retired Presidents
Benjamin Mkapa and Ali Hassan Mwinyi .
It is yet another lesson to some of
those countries which seem to be doubtful on the adherence of this
constitutional obligation on the limits of leadership. We have heard
several countries whose leaders become restless whenever their tenures
were approaching an end.
We saw it happening in Burkina Faso, we
hear of political disturbances brewing in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) and Burundi, to mention a few on “change the constitution”
campaigns.
Much that we accept some of these
countries have good reasons deserving to change their constitutions,
however it should as far as practicable be avoided.
Namibia itself in 2000 had to change the
Constitution to allow the founding father of that nation, Dr Sam Nujoma
a third term, a dispute which caused some members of the ruling party,
the South West African People’s Organisation(SWAPO) to defect form
SWAPO.
The demand of a third term for Nujoma
was based on two reasons. First, the country was emerging from conflict
of war, the liberation struggle where they had a strong man during the
liberation war in the name of Sam Nujoma.
Do not make a mistake comparing this
with Mandela’s South Africa who retired even before the second term;
here in South Africa the institutions were there and the checks and
balances were visible and working.
The second reason was the confusion as
to whether the two terms should be inclusive with that one when Nujoma
came to power from the struggle.
Some argued strongly that the first one
should not be counted and agreed that was only for the founding father
and necessitated the change of constitution to that effect.
Three terms were strictly for Nujoma
only. The trouble brewed again when his third term was over as to the
successor of Nujoma from within the SWAPO Party itself. Ugly face of
tribalism started to show up.
The first and founding President Sam
Nujoma was an Oshiwambo speaking from the North of the country. Other
minority tribes were showing interest.
But this was nipped in the bud by Dr
Nujoma himself when he named Pohamba as his successor. President Pohamba
just came in humility and assumed his presidency in 2005 after fiercely
contested elections within the Party as to who should be the successor
of Nujoma within the party.
It was a costly election that found the
SWAPO Party divided; a splinter from the mighty SWAPO was created. Big
names like Hidipo Hamutenya once the right hand man of Sam Nujoma
defected from SWAPO.
This party crisis left indelible mark in
Pohamba’s heart and may be, it could be the reason of his
reconciliatory spirit in building cohesive nation.
The current Namibian President Hage
Geingob was also involved in this crisis; he decided to take a
sabbatical leave to USA. However, Pohamba worked out intelligently to
heal the wounds; he convinced Geingob to come back and gave him a
ministerial post and later became the Prime Minister again and
Vice-Chairman of SWAPO, seen as a cradle to presidency.
Within his ten years administration,
Pohamba believed in unity with diversity and brought together the
Namibian nation that was characterised with the inherited tribal
feelings.
The dominant tribe the Oshiwambo
speaking, almost two thirds of the population was poised to rule Namibia
by virtue of its majority. Pohamba changed this. Indeed some inroads in
making his government all inclusive were very vivid in his leadership.
Gaingob now, a non Oshiwambo speaking is the strong man of the Land of
the Brave, taking over from the .
Mo Ibrahim Award Winner Dr Hifikepunye
Pohamba. What do Namibians expect from him? Geingob was the first Prime
Minister of Namibia and was instrumental in drafting the Namibian
constitution which we hope he will uphold it like his predecessors.
He went for Sabbatical leave after being
relegated to a junior ministerial post but later came back remorsefully
ending up becoming the third President of Namibia.
He started well with appointment of his
Cabinet where he created new ministries and renamed others stressing the
priorities which include poverty alleviation, job creation, improved
stateowned enterprises and industrialisation.
That is a very positive move! The
cabinet includes four new ministries seven renamed portfolio, seemingly a
top heavy executive which he acknowledges. However, the president did
not hide the fact that the changes would cost a lot of money, but
hastened to say that the changes are necessary if service delivery was
to be realised.
On what they call zebra system, if you
like, fifty-fifty; he has appointed a lady Prime Minister Saara
Kuugongelwa with her Deputy, Ms Nandi Nentumbo Ndeitwa and several other
women ministers with a mixture of youths and veterans, a real balanced
cabinet.
On the appointment of the
Vice-President, he picked a veteran politician Dr Nick Iyambo (79), who
has been in the cabinet since 1990.
He said he wanted someone who will not
be afraid of him when it comes to advising and not someone who would
tell him what he wanted to hear. Geingob is known to be a serious man
and brooks no nonsense. He used to warn civil servants as a Prime
Minister in his annual opening remarks to civil servants.
“You ship in or ship out” meaning you
either deliver or count yourself out! On the other side he is a number
one fan of his National Football Team, the Brave Warriors. He normally
attends final matches of the World Cup including the last one in Brazil.
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