I dream of Swapo unity

I dream of Swapo unity BY CASTRO ETONDO

I remember vividly since childhood. I was just one of the little children growing up in Swapo camps in exile; ours was in Kwanza-Sul, in Angola.

What I knew about Swapo is that it was united to free Namibia from the yoke of the colonial apartheid regime of South.

I think many young Namibians inside the country and in exile believed the same too. And it is true, there was political unity.

But nowadays as I look around, I don't see that unity.

Everyone fights for their own stomach and less for the ideology of Swapo.

All I see everywhere is infighting and the seeds of division, all in the name of political power.

Sometimes I look at those who were once brave freedom fighters, but today they have become cowards or maybe age has made them surrender and give up their bravery.

I see it daily, leaders are not united; members are not united; elders are not united; women are not united; men are not united; youth are not united even chickens are no longer united against hawks. I say hawks in figurative sense.

Even the youngest pioneer's movement is being confused by the disunity in the Party.

It is a pity.

After over 30 years of dormancy, the Swapo Party Pioneers Movement was activated in Okalongo in 2013, as an injection of hope for the future of the Swapo Party and Namibia.

I was there.

I performed with Ndilimani Cultural Troupe.

We sang and danced for joy.

Sadly, all that enthusiasm is disappearing.

Today our Swapo is walking in the valleys of darkness and feeding on the gossip and rumours manufactured by our top leaders.

The country is losing hope, because of the infighting and lack of vision of the leadership of the party and country.

Corruption is the new religion and tribalism is the new colonialism.

Just yesterday, you said the criteria for leadership was the tribe, non-Oshiwambo, and the children were listening; the other day you said there can be no black economic empowerment, because whites too are citizens, children were listening, and you awarded tenders to yourselves – the leaders, to your friends, to your proxies, to your children, and you even gave land to yourselves “special category you called it”, you even gave your children Chinese scholarships, and you did all these things in broad daylight while God was watching, you even called your voters demeaning names.

All these things happened, while the children were watching and are watching.

My comrades when we sing “ALERT NAMIBIA” what does it mean to each of us? Take a moment to reflect!

Do you really, really understand the meaning of these revolutionary words, do you really internalise the implications of these words, do you really understand that the melody of this song should reverberate for every Namibian in all 121 Constituencies of our 14 Regions.

This means that if you are a leader today; remember that you are renting the trust and confidence of the people, the ideology and the hope of the country. You are temporary, but the party and the country are forever.

All I intend is to call for genuine unity in our party and our country. I am a young man crying for my generation, for the need for true unity, not lies and deceptions. Let us preach and practice true unity in this Party from President to section leader; let us go out in broad daylight to practice unity.

On the morning of 21 March 1990, I was young, but I remember what Founding President Sam Nujoma said, “…as from today, we are masters of this vast land of our ancestors. The destiny of this country is now fully in our own hands. We should, therefore, look forward to the future with confidence and hope. Taking the destiny of this country in our own hands means, among other things, making a great effort to forge national identity and unity.”

So many in our country and in the structures of Swapo are scared to speak the truth. We are forced to sing praises of lies and propaganda. This is not the type of unity or forging of a national identity that Founding President was referring to. Let us return to the real unity that glued us in 1990. Otherwise, we are confusing the children and we are misleading the country. Namibia belongs to all who live in it and the resources of Namibia must benefit all Namibians.

So many times, you dance to the tunes of Ndilimani Cultural Troupe and some get elected through the rhythm of this dancing and the energetic youth. Yet after the show and the campaign, who cares where we sleep; who cares what we eat; who cares whether there is a decent house for each of us; who really cares whether we live or die? We are still sleeping in the containers given to Ndilimani in 1990.

All Swapo leaders, including the so-called Top 4, know about the situation of Ndilimani.

In the 2014 election campaign we were promised houses by President Geingob – to this day – nothing. Some of the ministers and former central committee members have used Ndilimani's name just to get fishing quotas for themselves, nothing is done about this. This is the absolute truth, we are dancing and singing, yet we are suffering.

I pray that from today, all of us must tell the truth and bury fear. I pray that all of us must remember that Swapo must live longer than all of us; intergenerational equity is in the DNA of Swapo, let us remember that. We need to remind some among us to always remember that Swapo and Namibia is not a bank for self-enrichment at the expense of the masses and our future wellbeing. This is what the Alert Namibia anthem represents to me. I hope it has the same symbolic meaning to you. Swapo, United, Swapo, Victorious –honesty and hard work – NOW!