DOES NANGOLO MBUMBA KNOW THAT A REFERENDUM LAW DOES NOT EXIST IN - TopicsExpress



          

DOES NANGOLO MBUMBA KNOW THAT A REFERENDUM LAW DOES NOT EXIST IN NAMIBIA OR IS HE BEHAVING OPPORTUNISTICALLY?: “Swapo has reacted to growing calls by opposition parties to give former SWATF and Koevoet soldiers veteran status by suggesting that the matter be decided by a referendum. Swapo Secretary General Nangolo Mbumba was reacting to remarks by Congress of Democrats (CoD) president Ben Ulenga about the status of these former soldiers. Ulenga was the third opposition leader to blast the ruling party for its persistent refusal to register these ex-soldiers as war veterans so that they can benefit from programmes run by the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs. ------ “Let us have a referendum then so that the citizens can decide. I doubt that they will have support from the people after what happened during the liberation struggle,” Mbumba told Namibian Sun this week. “On the issue of who should be granted veteran status we are guided by the law which was passed in parliament where these parties are represented. These things we say out here will not mean anything unless we go back to parliament and amend the law.” During an earlier interview with Namibian Sun Mbumba said the former SWATF and Koevoet soldiers should pay the price for siding with the former colonial masters and killing their own people. “They fought against their own people for a foreign army under the command of the enemy,” said Mbumba at the time. Ulenga fumed at recent remarks by President Hifikepunye Pohamba that these ex-soldiers are not war veterans and cannot be recognised as such. The Head of State was speaking during the unveiling of the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) fighters’ statue at Omugulugwombashe. “It is very regrettable that even our President, who is generally a very good citizen, made statements to the effect that, if you were fighting as a Koevoet or SWATF member you cannot get assistance from the State,” Ulenga told journalists. On a separate occasion Pohamba informed his South African counterpart, President Jacob Zuma, to ignore pleas from ex-SWATF and Koevoet members for help in their quest for recognition as war veterans.” namibiansun/politics/swapo-calls-for-swatfkoevoet-referendum.68925
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 10:34:04 +0000

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