Fight against tribalism

The president of the Namibia Democratic Movement for Change, mnr. Frans /Goagoseb, addressed a rally at Maltahöhe over the weekend. He conveyed the following message. Our party message today is the one of addressing and arresting poverty in this country.

We decided to come and hold this meeting in Maltahöhe not in town were the affluent and the rich are staying, but we said we will come and hold it here in Blikkiesdorp were the poorest of the poor lives.

It is evident therefore that looking around myself standing here, Namibia's cake of independence has not been shared amongst all the people of Namibia, some are eating and others are starving. It is a fact that 20 years down the road of independence we have people who live on less then a dollar per day. It is not on!

It is disgusting primarily because Namibia is not a poor country as it is rich in mineral resources. We want to bring a message of hope to you today that amid all your suffering and pain there is hope at the end of the tunnel and that the only vehicle that can give you a ride free of charge towards economic independence is the Namibia DMC.

Furthermore it is a fact that throughout our diversity as a nation we should find common ground as to what works for the benefit of all of us as Namibians. We should be wary of tribalistic tendencies currently rearing its ugly head all over the place, for lessons can be learnt from other countries as to what such tendencies can cause this country.

We should accept that we are born from different mothers and fathers and from different tribes but that we are all Namibians. We in our party will fight tooth and nail against all forms of tribalism tendencies and we term it a cancer that should be eradicated from the human body at all cost.

As Namibians are only a few days away from the elections we urge you to exercise your democratic right by asking yourself whether you want change or whether you want to continue with the status quo.

There is nothing to tell as it is a reality that after the contractual agreement that Namibians have signed with Swapo in 1990 when this nation went into marriage with them, that Swapo has been on a quite extended honeymoon. It is time to tell Swapo that the honeymoon is over and that the responsibility of building a home for the future generations has already started, and that we cannot any longer accept anything else rather than service delivery.

Corruption is rife in this country and it should be addressed not through public utterances that do not have any meaningful impact, but through concrete measures that must be put in place.

The Swapo party has been on a spree recently to reward those it deems important to achieve their electoral victory handsomely and the latest recipient has been the chiefs. We say too little too late.

Why should these cars be given on the eve of the election, while all along when the opposition parties were asking questions about the remuneration of traditional chiefs they were accused of looking for cheap political points?

It should be stated here and now that for as long as Swapo continues to recognise some traditional leaders and force others on their communities purely because they belong to Swapo, any attempt to show a human face as if they care for the chiefs will be seen for what it really is, a clearly calculated campaign to use their influence to secure political survival.