Swartbooi rejects party idea
Bernadus Swartbooi has scoffed at suggestions that his Landless People’s Movement has the makings of a new political party.
CATHERINE SASMAN
Former deputy minister of land reform and Swapo backbencher Bernadus Swartbooi has dismissed suggestions that the Landless People’s Movement could morph into a new political party.
He was responding to a suggestion made in jest by Festus Muundjua of the OvaHerero Traditional Authority (OTA) at a mass rally at Keetmanshoop on Saturday.
Swartbooi said the aim of the Landless People’s Movement was to unify people beyond political affiliation and regionalism.
“It is not a political party but I know how the narrow-minded myopic mind works. They will now go and say ‘you see, he was introducing the executive of a new political party’,” he said after having introduced a committee of the movement at the rally.
He added: “Our problems are not to be addressed through political parties and if you disagree here you go and form another one. What we are saying is that while some of us are members of Swapo, others are members of other political parties. On the land issue what we want is a common purpose.”
The firebrand politician made some derogatory remarks against what he described as greedy and unconscionable political leaders, commenting: “If you enter politics for self-enrichment, judgement will be upon you.”
He said he would not give up on his position on the land question because he was “not interested in the job of a deputy minister or a black Mercedes” and would not apologise for comments he had made.
“Politics by design, purpose and execution is the terrain where leaders fight on the basis of the mandate of their communities, for what these communities want and need. You do not apologise for what the communities need. You do not join politics to beg and bow,” he said.
He also took aim at some politicians who are reportedly silently supporting the landless movement’s objectives, saying their silence could only mean that they wanted their bread buttered on both sides.
THE LAND CONFERENCE
Swartbooi suggested that a new approach to the land question be adopted because the current model did not address poverty alleviation.
He reiterated that the current resettlement programme should “be shut down because it is a useless programme”.
One of the reasons for this harsh assessment is because the resettlement programme’s target is 5 million hectares to be bought and distributed by 2020 while, he added, more than 50 million hectares were dispossessed through colonialism and apartheid.
He also criticised the omission of land dispossession as a qualifying criterion for resettlement and commented that veteran status should not be one of these qualifications.
Swartbooi went on to say that restorative justice for the dispossessed formed the basis of the demand for ancestral land rights.
He said a second conference for the landless should precede the intended second national land conference, adding that if the latter did not deliver on the demands of the landless, the battle would be taken to the courts and the international community like the UN, AU and SADC.
Former deputy minister of land reform and Swapo backbencher Bernadus Swartbooi has dismissed suggestions that the Landless People’s Movement could morph into a new political party.
He was responding to a suggestion made in jest by Festus Muundjua of the OvaHerero Traditional Authority (OTA) at a mass rally at Keetmanshoop on Saturday.
Swartbooi said the aim of the Landless People’s Movement was to unify people beyond political affiliation and regionalism.
“It is not a political party but I know how the narrow-minded myopic mind works. They will now go and say ‘you see, he was introducing the executive of a new political party’,” he said after having introduced a committee of the movement at the rally.
He added: “Our problems are not to be addressed through political parties and if you disagree here you go and form another one. What we are saying is that while some of us are members of Swapo, others are members of other political parties. On the land issue what we want is a common purpose.”
The firebrand politician made some derogatory remarks against what he described as greedy and unconscionable political leaders, commenting: “If you enter politics for self-enrichment, judgement will be upon you.”
He said he would not give up on his position on the land question because he was “not interested in the job of a deputy minister or a black Mercedes” and would not apologise for comments he had made.
“Politics by design, purpose and execution is the terrain where leaders fight on the basis of the mandate of their communities, for what these communities want and need. You do not apologise for what the communities need. You do not join politics to beg and bow,” he said.
He also took aim at some politicians who are reportedly silently supporting the landless movement’s objectives, saying their silence could only mean that they wanted their bread buttered on both sides.
THE LAND CONFERENCE
Swartbooi suggested that a new approach to the land question be adopted because the current model did not address poverty alleviation.
He reiterated that the current resettlement programme should “be shut down because it is a useless programme”.
One of the reasons for this harsh assessment is because the resettlement programme’s target is 5 million hectares to be bought and distributed by 2020 while, he added, more than 50 million hectares were dispossessed through colonialism and apartheid.
He also criticised the omission of land dispossession as a qualifying criterion for resettlement and commented that veteran status should not be one of these qualifications.
Swartbooi went on to say that restorative justice for the dispossessed formed the basis of the demand for ancestral land rights.
He said a second conference for the landless should precede the intended second national land conference, adding that if the latter did not deliver on the demands of the landless, the battle would be taken to the courts and the international community like the UN, AU and SADC.
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article