DICLAIMER: VIEWS EXPRESSED BELOW ARE NOT MINE: We have failed as Swapo Party: Nahas Angula March 20, 2013 SWAPO party has drifted away from its historical mission of fair distribution of wealth to every Namibian, former Prime-Minister Nahas Angula has said. According to Angula, although the Swapo government has come up with policies that were supposed to ensure that every Namibian benefits, sadly results on the ground paint a different picture as a majority of people remain immersed in abject poverty. “We have forgotten our historical mission as Swapo Party of fair and equitable distribution of wealth, which should have been the bed rock of our policies. This remains a challenge for the new crop of our politicians. Social transformation was a priority as we made out of apartheid for it to make meaning it had to be guided by social values which are equitable distribution of resources to all,” Angula said. Angula accused a few individuals for being selfish and wanting only themselves to benefit from the country’s resources leaving the majority with almost next to nothing. “Fairness and justice, these values are not being embraced by everybody, for some people it’s self empowerment,” he said. The former Prime-Minister said the difference in salary gaps was no longer a race issue but a class issue. “The gaps in income are just not between races anymore, it’s now a class situation. Some blacks earn much more than others. While there is nothing wrong with one being rich but you have to do it fairly. As Prime- Minister, I was tasked with coming up with a framework for fair and equitable distribution of the country’s resources so that those who were discriminated during apartheid find redress and are empowered as well. “That frame work was never embraced by those who believe socio-economic transformation is the same as self empowerment, which has come about in our country from South Africa’s BEE. We now have Namibians who want to be the (Cyril) Ramphosas of this world belonging to the billionaire clubs meanwhile the people of Marikana are earning peanuts,” Angula said. Angula added that economic transformation should not lead to formation of classes but rather it should lead to the distribution of resources with a view to redress past injustices. The former Prime-Minister also spoke about three biggest challenges he faced towards the end of his reign as Prime-Minister that include the unending issue of children of the struggle, teachers’ illegal strike last year as well as the issue of poverty. “The issue of scavenging citizens looking for food in dumpsites in a country by World Bank ratings is classified as an upper middle country; you still have people scavenging for food. It’s one of the most embarrassing issues as Prime-Minister I had to deal with,” Angula said. confidente.na/2013/03/20/we-have-failed-as-swapo-party-nahas-angula/
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 16:19:21 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015