Swapo must modernise its debate on leadership

THE ongoing Swapo Central Committee meeting is likely to confirm Doreen Sioka and Hage Geingob as members of the Politburo.

Dr Geingob’s return to the Politburo is welcome because I am one of those who believe that Swapo as a ruling party must mobilise all its best talents to lead this country, both in the Party and government structures. And most will agree that Dr Geingob is one of those talents.And as the saying goes, “talent never goes out of fashion”.Like many, I am somewhat nostalgic and agree with Joe Diescho when he opined in a piece a while back that the first Nujoma cabinet was the most talented this country ever had.However, my principal concern here is not necessarily Dr Geingob’s return or my nostalgia with Nujoma’s first cabinet.Nor is it Sioka’s first entry as a woman into this body to make up the numbers needed in terms of gender representation.It is entirely different, yet related in nature, during what will serve as a preparatory central committee meeting for a key congress later in the year.The analyses that have been doing the rounds lately on this issue have been intellectually unsatisfying.They don’t look with honesty into the future of this country, notably on the far-too-important leadership question.I don’t know if it is politically expedient or just the fashion of the day to argue that there is a need for Pohamba to be both head of state and the Party in order for him to do a decent job.Nothing until now suggests that President Pohamba is constrained by the Party President from reshuffling his cabinet or in taking this or that initiative.On this score, we are like the astronomer who confuses a butterfly for a planet.In a presidential system, and most importantly in a constitutional state, there is no higher authority than that of a state president.So that apologetic argument is shallow and we need to shift the debate to the leadership question.It will not surprise my readers or citizens of this country that the energy of a younger and visionary educated leader will be needed in taking this country forward.In that regard, I don’t think that it makes sense to have a leader who does not have either of the two.I argue this way because our past is increasingly becoming decomposed, our future even more opaque, in the absence of a leader with technical skills and vision.As an anecdote, when the founding father of Singapore (now Minister mentor) Lee Kuan Yew spoke at the start of the Chinese new year earlier this year, he did not only speak about free trade agreements, but also about art exhibitions, jazz bands, museums and alfresco dining.In fact, he said in his roadmap, that Singapore aspires to be a “tropical version of New York, Paris and London all in one”.Lee is 84 years old, but his language is not only relevant as a talented and visionary mentor, it is equally driven by a sense of pragmatism.Such relevant language should be emulated by Swapo leaders in tune with the multiple demands of our society.In fact, I would be the first to applaud President Pohamba had he suggested to the City of Windhoek that it must look at creating a vibrant city centre at night or cheaper erven for teachers instead of the self-serving proposal of naming a street across from his possible new mansion “President Street”.I am not pitting the young and the old, but I think that the older generation should become relevant mentors and not necessarily drive our future.For the best part, I have heard that there is a need for continuity and for the sake of our peace the status quo is ideal.Such reasoning is pathetically dangerous for it assumes that only the tandem of President Pohamba, with Nujoma lurking over his shoulder, can guarantee peace in this country.We need to look beyond this sterile discourse and start to argue that peace has become a basic ingredient in societies with modern pretensions.Similarly, it should be internalised as a way of life to allow us to move on to other concrete demands in our democracy.Admittedly, peace is a basic precondition for all else, but we need a leader who can provide innovative solutions to our problems such as acute youth unemployment, education, tribalism, better provision of healthcare etc.Our peace has become artificially hollow in the absence of solutions to these problems.Therefore, the debate in Swapo in the run-up to its congress later this year should be more about substance as opposed to form.And today’s central committee must set a preamble to a much more robust debate about leadership for the future.The regions must call for a leader who can modernise government and create urgency in the way we do things in this country.Many of us are aware that President Pohamba or Sam Nujoma doesn’t represent the future of this country anymore, particularly President Pohamba’s monarchical or laissez-faire leadership style.Thus, what ought to be under discussion for analysts and cadres is not merely a discussion about replacing one leader with another at party level, but to ask critically as to what a leader can bring to the political and developmental process, both within Swapo and for the country.At the next election, President Pohamba will be 73 years and we should ask ourselves what it is that President Pohamba can do better than those who are younger and more educated.Does Pohamba or Sam Nujoma understand our aspirations better as succeeding generations or as a country looking into the future? Are they in tune with the demands of modern societies and can they integrate Namibia better in a globalised world? Once cadres have debated and answered some of these pertinent questions on leadership, the Party would have made an important step in governing and not ruling this country.To conclude, party cadres must be aware that it is important to focus their debate on leaders who know what they want to do with power because having power for its own sake is meaningless and dangerous.* Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari is a PhD fellow in Political Science at the University of Paris Pantheon Sorbonne, FranceAnd most will agree that Dr Geingob is one of those talents.And as the saying goes, “talent never goes out of fashion”.Like many, I am somewhat nostalgic and agree with Joe Diescho when he opined in a piece a while back that the first Nujoma cabinet was the most talented this country ever had.However, my principal concern here is not necessarily Dr Geingob’s return or my nostalgia with Nujoma’s first cabinet.Nor is it Sioka’s first entry as a woman into this body to make up the numbers needed in terms of gender representation.It is entirely different, yet related in nature, during what will serve as a preparatory central committee meeting for a key congress later in the year.The analyses that have been doing the rounds lately on this issue have been intellectually unsatisfying.They don’t look with honesty into the future of this country, notably on the far-too-important leadership question.I don’t know if it is politically expedient or just the fashion of the day to argue that there is a need for Pohamba to be both head of state and the Party in order for him to do a decent job.Nothing until now suggests that President Pohamba is constrained by the Party President from reshuffling his cabinet or in taking this or that initiative.On this score, we are like the astronomer who confuses a butterfly for a planet.In a presidential system, and most importantly in a constitutional state, there is no higher authority than that of a state president.So that apologetic argument is shallow and we need to shift the debate to the leadership question.It will not surprise my readers or citizens of this country that the energy of a younger and visionary educated leader will be needed in taking this country forward.In that regard, I don’t think that it makes sense to have a leader who does not have either of the two.I argue this way because our past is increasingly becoming decomposed, our future even more opaque, in the absence of a leader with technical skills and vision.As an anecdote, when the founding father of Singapore (now Minister mentor) Lee Kuan Yew spoke at the start of the Chinese new year earlier this year, he did not only speak about free trade agreements, but also about art exhibitions, jazz bands, museums and alfresco dining.In fact, he said in his roadmap, that Singapore aspires to be a “tropical version of New York, Paris and London all in one”.Lee is 84 years old, but his language is not only relevant as a talented and visionary mentor, it is equally driven by a sense of pragmatism.Such relevant language should be emulated by Swapo leaders in tune with the multiple demands of our society.In fact, I would be the first to applaud President Pohamba had he suggested to the City of Windhoek that it must look at creating a vibrant city centre at night or cheaper erven for teachers instead of the self-serving proposal of naming a street across from his possible new mansion “President Street”.I am not pitting the young and the old, but I think that the older generation should become relevant mentors and not necessarily drive our future.For the best part, I have heard that there is a need for continuity and for the sake of our peace the status quo is ideal.Such reasoning is pathetically dangerous for it assumes that only the tandem of President Pohamba, with Nujoma lurking over his shoulder, can guarantee peace in this country.We need to look beyond this sterile discourse and start to argue that peace has become a basic ingredient in societies with modern pretensions.Similarly, it should be internalised as a way of life to allow us to move on to other concrete demands in our democracy.Admittedly, peace is a basic precondition for all else, but we need a leader who can provide innovative solutions to our problems such as acute youth unemployment, education, tribalism, better provision of healthcare etc.Our peace has become artificially hollow in the absence of solutions to these problems.Therefore, the debate in Swapo in the run-up to its congress later this year should be more about substance as opposed to form.And today’s central committee must set a preamble to a much more robust debate about leadership for the future.The regions must call for a leader who can modernise government and create urgency in the way we do things in this country.Many of us are aware that President Pohamba or Sam Nujoma doesn’t represent the future of this country anymore, particularly President Pohamba’s monarchical or laissez-faire leadership style. Thus, what ought to be under discussion for analysts and cadres is not merely a discussion about replacing one leader with another at party level, but to ask critically as to what a leader can bring to the political and developmental process, both within Swapo and for the country.At the next election, President Pohamba will be 73 years and we should ask ourselves what it is that President Pohamba can do better than those who are younger and more educated.Does Pohamba or Sam Nujoma understand our aspirations better as succeeding generations or as a country looking into the future? Are they in tune with the demands of modern societies and can they integrate Namibia better in a globalised world? Once cadres have debated and answered some of these pertinent questions on leadership, the Party would have made an important step in governing and not ruling this country.To conclude, party cadres must be aware that it is important to focus their debate on leaders who know what they want to do with power because having power for its own sake is meaningless and dangerous.* Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari is a PhD fellow in Political Science at the University of Paris Pantheon Sorbonne, France