Former NamPower boss quits Swapo

THE former Managing Director of NamPower, Dr Leake Hangala, has resigned as a member of the ruling Swapo party, The Namibian has learnt.

His name and those of about a dozen others who had quit the party were read out late Wednesday at the Swapo congress, a source disclosed. When contacted yesterday, Hangala confirmed that he had quit the party.”I resigned ten days ago,” he told The Namibian.Asked if he would join the new party Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), he replied that he would not join.He said he wanted to concentrate on business.Hangala is a Director for Corporate Strategy and Business Development at Cell One, Namibia’s second cellular communication operator.”I consider every citizen’s political party choices a private matter of conscience,” he said, “so I sought no publicity for my recent decision not to retain membership in Swapo.”Other Namibians will make different decisions on where and how they may best make an ongoing contribution to the country we all love, and I will continue to respect both those decisions and the work that they do.”I say this only as a result of persistent press inquiries.Like many Namibians of my generation, I joined Swapo at a very early age and was extraordinarily fortunate to have received from it responsibilities far beyond my years”, he said.”I have always sought to carry out those responsibilities to the best of my ability, and in the spirit which made Swapo unique – promoting the interests of all our country’s people, and not only one group or sect.For those opportunities to contribute, and for my many mentors in these activities, I remain very grateful.”Regrettably, in the current atmosphere of deep polarisation and personalisation, I no longer find myself able to make a contribution within the political realm.At the same time, I believe that making a contribution in some sphere remains both a privilege and a responsibility for those who are able.”I have thus decided to focus my present energies in the economic and commercial field, where I have in any event been active on a fulltime basis for many years.”Hangala was at the helm of NamPower for just over ten years until early 2006 and during that time he had become a leading figure in Namibia’s business community.Before that he was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Mines and Energy from 1990 to 1995, when he moved to NamPower.Hangala went into exile in the mid-seventies, studied geology in Finland from 1978 to 1987 and completed his studies with a PhD in economic geology at the Helsinki University.In 1998 he completed a certificate in executive management at the renowned Harvard Business School in the USA.When contacted yesterday, Hangala confirmed that he had quit the party.”I resigned ten days ago,” he told The Namibian.Asked if he would join the new party Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), he replied that he would not join.He said he wanted to concentrate on business.Hangala is a Director for Corporate Strategy and Business Development at Cell One, Namibia’s second cellular communication operator. “I consider every citizen’s political party choices a private matter of conscience,” he said, “so I sought no publicity for my recent decision not to retain membership in Swapo.”Other Namibians will make different decisions on where and how they may best make an ongoing contribution to the country we all love, and I will continue to respect both those decisions and the work that they do.”I say this only as a result of persistent press inquiries.Like many Namibians of my generation, I joined Swapo at a very early age and was extraordinarily fortunate to have received from it responsibilities far beyond my years”, he said.”I have always sought to carry out those responsibilities to the best of my ability, and in the spirit which made Swapo unique – promoting the interests of all our country’s people, and not only one group or sect.For those opportunities to contribute, and for my many mentors in these activities, I remain very grateful.”Regrettably, in the current atmosphere of deep polarisation and personalisation, I no longer find myself able to make a contribution within the political realm.At the same time, I believe that making a contribution in some sphere remains both a privilege and a responsibility for those who are able.”I have thus decided to focus my present energies in the economic and commercial field, where I have in any event been active on a fulltime basis for many years.”Hangala was at the helm of NamPower for just over ten years until early 2006 and during that time he had become a leading figure in Namibia’s business community.Before that he was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Mines and Energy from 1990 to 1995, when he moved to NamPower.Hangala went into exile in the mid-seventies, studied geology in Finland from 1978 to 1987 and completed his studies with a PhD in economic geology at the Helsinki University.In 1998 he completed a certificate in executive management at the renowned Harvard Business School in the USA.