Africa: We Are Namibia, Not South Africa Nor Botswana

We have now seen seismic political adjustments in each South Africa and Botswana, a few of which had been projected, others that got here as a shock even to the then-incumbent and succeeding regimes.

We’re nonetheless, failing to acknowledge the completely different political environments in these international locations. Comrade Lucia Iipumbu, former youth chief and product of our motion, when addressing a rally in Omaruru stated the candidate we fielded is the one, and we must always thus be cautious to not evaluate apples with oranges.

In 2004, the BDP obtained 51.73% of the votes, in comparison with the opposition that obtained 42.68%, whereas the Swapo Occasion obtained 75.83%, and the opposition received 23.2%. In 2014, BDP obtained 46.45% and the opposition 42.48%, whereas Swapo Occasion obtained 80.01%, and the opposition 18.32%. The Swapo Occasion candidate scored the bottom in 2019 with 56.25% and the brand new child on the block, Dr Itula, then an impartial candidate, might solely muster 29.37%, regardless of public dissatisfaction in regards to the “Fishrot” scandal. In 2019, BDP obtained 52.65% and the opposition 45.41%, whereas the Swapo Occasion obtained 56.25%, and the opposition obtained 32.82%. Our decline got here at a time we let down our guard, which the social gathering has since began to handle in earnest because the Swapo Occasion has all the time been a self-correcting, broad-based motion.

It’s my thought of opinion that the ruling social gathering of Botswana was by no means a liberation motion stricto sensu, therefore its inclusion within the liberation actions’ membership in recent times.

Masisi’s reign threatened the material of the Botswana conventional political system, alienating stalwarts and treating the social gathering as his fiefdom, and creating different centres of energy that must be considered.. He departed from the established precedents, and appealed extra to neighbouring international locations and international audiences moderately than his home challenges and agenda. Given the Botswana system, Masisi turned an unintended alternative for president when the previous vice-president retired on well being grounds.

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah progressed by way of the ranks, on the again of many years of engagement at senior management stage, in a democratic method.

Ramaphosa, a commerce unionist like Chiluba, similar to Masisi, unilaterally modified the script coping with a former president and a populist par excellence. We knew from the second Zuma was humiliated that the political scene in South Africa would change.

Each these candidates, actual or perceived, had allegations of corruption levelled towards them. Nandi-Ndaitwah doesn’t have allegations towards her, and has no intentions of interfering with state establishments, or utilizing state establishments to silence critics.

Good college students of politics would inform us that Swapo has all the time been completely different from the ANC. Swapo as a liberation motion was extra organised and structured in exile than the ANC. South Africa’s motion in direction of multi-party democracy was triggered by our political independence. Guests from South Africa would admire our street infrastructure and our 24-hour electrical energy provide, regardless of the dimensions of our economic system.

Then again, the change in Zambia occurred many many years in the past, and on the time did not unfold past its borders. Zambia taught us that to vote in a Chiluba only for the sake of change just isn’t helpful to nationwide curiosity.

The Swapo Occasion is ever-changing to fulfill the rising wants of our folks. Our folks proceed to understand the seismic socio-political adjustments that the Swapo Occasion has facilitated since independence, despite the fact that they aren’t utterly proud of how issues have been.

It could be silly and disingenuous of an analyst to say persons are completely happy to have issues persevering with as they’ve been, as it could be equally silly and disingenuous of an analyst to say the social gathering that introduced us independence did nothing.

The Swapo Occasion believes that change must be significant in folks’s lives, and the social gathering has woke up to this. The social gathering is preaching continuity concerning these issues that aren’t damaged, and alter for these issues that we acknowledge want a rethink.

The Swapo Occasion is able to result in main adjustments. The opposition events alternatively, are too incompetent and fragmented even in managing their very own events to have the ability to result in nationwide change, or to know the total extent of the problems at play.

You have got management in different events passing round faux and unverified information in regards to the state of our nation, creating the impression that they ought to not be trusted to sift by way of data to find out the most effective course for the nation, if they’re struggling to sift by way of the rubbish heap of on-line disinformation.

As Comrade Ngurare, former youth chief and product of our motion just lately opined, the presidential candidates of our opposition events haven’t got a lot to supply the voters of 2024. They’re both politically childish, or supply little substance previous their tribal affiliations, and more often than not fragmented because the wind in Alaska.

I’m not naïve in realizing that the place political change has occurred, it typically occurred abruptly with inadequate warning, like in Zambia and Malawi. However that’s the solely takeaway. In these cases, there was typically a chapter of concepts, however that can’t be stated of Swapo Occasion, whose authorities has been on the international forefront of concepts round local weather change, logistical pivoting for inter-Africa commerce, and different progressive initiatives.