Swapo’s old men face onslaught

SWAPO will tomorrow finalise the list from which parliamentarians to represent the party in the National Assembly will be picked, with an onslaught on some top male politicians who have served in the government for decades expected.

At least 200 party representatives will meet in Windhoek for the electoral college to draw up a party list.

The run-up to the gathering has been dominated by alleged irregularities, such as claims of tribal camps, and interference by secretary general Sophia Shaningwa.

Shaningwa ordered several regions to re-elect delegates, or face exclusion from the ‘pot’.

The Namibian understands that by yesterday, four regions – Khomas, Oshikoto, Oshana and Kavango East – were not yet done with re-electing delegates.

Predicting the outcome of the electoral college is tricky because of various factors involved, but a section of the party leadership appears to lean towards removing several veteran male ministers who have served in government for years.

Although the names of those not likely to make the cut at this weekend’s conference is known, The Namibian cannot reveal them to avoid them being victimised.

This could be a continuation of a trend from the 2017 Swapo congress, where several of the old guard were shown the political door.

People familiar with this matter said a camp in Swapo wants to get their supporters into position in readiness for the 2022 party leadership congress, where party president Hage Geingob’s successor will be elected.

The battle to be on the party list has intensified, more so since Geingob has allegedly avoided endorsing a certain list of his preferred candidates.

To some, Geingob is silently pulling the strings through a group which consists of his preferred successor – vice president Nangolo Mbumba.

Mbumba’s possible opponent for the country’s top job is current Swapo vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

Sources said Geingob’s Team Harambee is now fractured into three camps: Mbumba, Nandi-Ndaitwah, and a third group that is allegedly mostly using the tribal card to garner votes.

In addition, sources said there are factions and people who have personal scores to settle, and they will use the voting process to settle them.

Sources have in the past rubbished claims that Geingob is rolling a red carpet for Mbumba to succeed him.

They are now pointing to this weekend’s electoral college as another platform for Geingob to strengthen his hand and pick a list of politicians that would work with him.

One veteran politician yesterday angrily said: “Leave us in peace” when asked about the possible onslaught which could remove several critics of the president, and introduce politicians who sing the praises of the head of state.

The youth has been calling for the removal of veterans from public office.

Swapo Party Youth League secretary Ephraim Nekongo – who is known to shower praises on the president – told The Namibian this week that he will only support young people at the elections.

Former prime minister Nahas Angula, however, blasted some youth leaders for chasing after political office “to eat”, and not for public service.

Political analyst and executive director of the Institute for Public Policy Research, Graham Hopwood yesterday said the upcoming Swapo electoral college was crucial and results difficult to predict.

He noted that it would be interesting to see if the gathering will elect more young people to the list “on the basis of their ability to deliver”, not on factors such as cronyism, factionalism and ethnic considerations.

“It’s a pity that there are no means of assessing whether MPs have performed well and deserve another term in the National Assembly,” he said.

Hopwood added that the outcomes of this electoral college were crucial because Swapo members of parliament “inevitably affect the quality of governance overall in Namibia”.

It will also be interesting to see, he added, whether the college rejects those convicted of corruption.

“If they don’t, it sends a message that Swapo is prepared to tolerate corruption within its ranks,” he said.

Another political commentator, Ndumba Kamwanyah, told The Namibian that Swapo’s electoral college was very important to general voters because it determines the type of people who will dominate the governance of the country.