Presidency voices frustration with journalists, analysts

The office of president Hage Geingob has expressed frustration with certain journalists, analysts and critics who it believes lack a proper understanding of the challenges faced by Namibians.

In a statement addressed to The Namibian yesterday, presidential spokesperson Afredo Hengari emphasised that these individuals, often lecturing from abroad, fail to appreciate the context and realities of the country.

“Whether jobs are created or not is arguably not a concern of certain journalists, ‘analysts’ and professional fault-finders who in some instances are lecturing Namibians from other countries, without any solid appreciation of context and the realities faced by Namibians,” Hengari said.

Hengari’s comments were in response to an article titled ‘Geingob blasted for telling Namibians not to interfere with green hydrogen project’, which was published in The Namibian on Wednesday.

Despite The Namibian having video footage of Geingob warning against excessive local interference that could impede the progress of developmental projects, specifically the Hyphen green hydrogen project, the Presidency denies that the president made such remarks.

Hengari’s statement comes after The Namibian published the Legal Assistance Centre’s call for more public dialogue concerning the Hyphen project, in line with the principles of democracy.

“The Presidency finds the above allegations as mere propaganda and innuendo aimed at tarnishing the good efforts of the government and the progress it is making to better the lives of the Namibian people,” Hengari said.

Hengari claims The Namibian newspaper chose to deliberately mislead the nation by putting Geingob’s statements out of context as opposed to telling their readers about the strides Namibia is making in its quest to become a key investment destination.

“The call by the president to urge Namibians not to allow the green hydrogen transformational opportunity to go to waste is consistent with the drive of the president to create a conducive environment for investment and job creation in order to fight unemployment,” Hengari said.