Swapo shakeup

The just-ended Swapo congress was not only marred by factional wars, but chaos and confusion prevailed during the four-day event.

The ruling party clearly struggled to get things done in its attempt to chart a new way forward following what has been described as a toxic power struggle.

The voting for the top four leadership positions was delayed by more than seven hours, while a session called yesterday morning to adopt the draft resolutions also ended abruptly and the matter was deferred to an extraordinary congress, which is likely to take place next year.

A number of constitutional amendments were also moved to the next extraordinary congress, which former secretary-general Nangolo Mbumba was quoted as saying would take place next year.

That gathering will adopt resolutions taken at the just-ended congress as well as amendments to the party's constitution.



Controlling social media

Among a raft of draft policies, the ruling party wants the government to establish a ministry of cyber security to monitor social media. This follows just a month after the now deposed Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe had created a similar ministry, which aimed to tackle the growing abuse of social media, including cyberbullying.

Namibians have in the past condemned government attempts to control social media.

Constitutional law expert Professor Nico Horn frowned at the idea of establishing a department or ministry to regulate social media and pointed out that there was “adequate” legislation that could deal with social media.

“I am always worried that the government wants to control the media. Social media are just another platform of freedom of speech; if someone violates your rights then you can press charges against them such as crimen injuria,” he said.

Political commentator Ndumba Kamwanyah echoed Horn's sentiments and said this proposal could only be dangerous, but pointed out that context is key.

“I do not know the context in which this decision was made, but in general it is not a good move. What do they mean with control? We do not want to risk suppressing views. It is a very dangerous zone; we need to guard against suppressing views,” he said.

In neighbouring South Africa, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) continues to advocate for the regulation of social media to counter false narratives and the spread of fake news.

That government has also been criticised of trying to control expression and discourse in the country, deeming the idea undemocratic.

Policy expert Graham Hopwood told Namibian Sun yesterday that it would be a welcome development if the plan was only to deal with the illicit flow of money and online crimes.

However, he warned the Swapo-led government to be very careful when pushing for such legislation.

“The main concern is that this is not an attempt to control or restrict certain liberties in Namibia. Any such law would be in contradiction of the constitution, Swapo should be very cautious. Hopefully it is only to control the illicit flow of money,” he said.



Discipline

Swapo is also appearing to take decisive steps in effectively dealing with factionalism and poor discipline. In its draft resolution, the ruling party is proposing that disciplinary measures be taken against any member who uses social media against the party, its leadership and members.

The party also wants members to first seek recourse internally before going the legal route. The party has been beset by court challenges in recent years, while the latest court challenge was dealt with on Thursday morning – the same day the ruling party's congress kicked off.

“In order to prevent a situation where members run to court to seek legal recourse, Swapo Party leaders strictly apply and adhere to the party rules and procedures when dealing with disciplinary cases.” Swapo's draft policies also include social issues such as gender-based violence and teenage pregnancy.

The ruling party has proposed that the government revisit the maternity leave policy. The party wants maternity leave increased from 12 to 14 weeks. “…and to either increase their salaries or keep them at the same level during maternity leave.”

It also touches on infrastructure development, water security, industrialisation, science and research, energy as well as the economic outlook in the country, which it says must be placed on a sound footing.



'Strange'

Kamwanyah criticised the decision to postpone the adoption of congress resolutions to another meeting.

“Why would they want to defer it while they could have done it now? But then it would seem as if this congress was a little disorganised,” he said.

Hopwood, on the other hand, said while it was not a bad thing to postpone discussions it must be done before the next elections in 2019, in order for the party to be clear on its policies ahead of its manifesto.



Permanent membership

The next extraordinary congress will also seek to grant a permanent membership of the politburo and central committee to vice-president Nickey Iyambo, former deputy prime minister Libertina Amathila and struggle stalwarts Ben Amathila and Theo-Ben Gurirab. The congress also wants former secretary-general Ngarikutuke Tjiriange, veterans Vinia Ndadi and Kanana Hishoono to be granted permanent membership of the central committee.

JEMIMA BEUKES