Werner Menges
6 July 2009
THE Swapo Party Youth League not only plans to have a say in the compilation of Swapo's list of candidates for the National Assembly election later this year, but also wants to publish a list of people it considers to be suitable for occupying senior posts in the civil service after the election.
The announcement was made by the Secretary of the SPYL, Elijah Ngurare, at a media briefing in Windhoek.
Only patriots who will not sabotage the implementation of Swapo's election manifestos will pass the test the Youth League has in store for them, Ngurare indicated at the briefing on Thursday.
Speaking in another context, he made it clear that in the wake of the creation of a new political challenger to Swapo, the Rally for Democracy and Progress, a history of involvement in Swapo's struggle to achieve Namibia's Independence will not suffice when it comes to getting the SPYL stamp of approval: "It is no longer enough to flash liberation credentials because those who are now in RDP can claim the same."
"As a constitutional, militant and revolutionary reserve wing of the Swapo Party, the SPYL continues in its mandate of being a fearless and militant transmitting belt of the Swapo Party ideology,
policies and programmes," said Ngurare in the early stages of the press conference.
"We shall continue to be the pulse of the party, we must be the eyes and ears of the party, we must be at the forefront of this second liberation struggle of economic empowerment just as the youth of yesterday were at the forefront of the liberation struggle under Plan. Our militancy and activism should therefore be seen from that constitutional obligation and responsibilities."
By the end of the briefing, he returned to that theme as he declared: "When Jesus comes the second time, the Swapo Party Youth League will still be more militant than ever."
With the presidential and National Assembly elections that are scheduled to take place later this year, the SPYL is planning to make its voice heard and respected, Ngurare warned.
"For sure, we shall collectively have a say in the formulation and composition of the Swapo Party 72 member parliamentary list," he said. The SPYL will be using its "numerical superiority" to decide who makes it onto that list of candidates, and who not, he said.
"Those who are the friends of the youth have nothing to fear. Those who are the enemies of the youth, start fearing today," Ngurare said.
He added that given the "dual allegiance and loyalty of some people in the Swapo Party government", the SPYL also wants to have a list of accounting officers and Directors in Government compiled a month before the elections, "so that cadres who are to occupy key positions from Secretary to Cabinet to Deputy Directors must be composed of nationalists who will not sabotage the implementation of Swapo Party election manifestos".
This will not be a matter of "jobs for comrades", Ngurare said.
"These nationalists are those patriots irrespective of their race or tribe who will be loyal to the Swapo Party government," he said.
"By patriots, we do not imply only card carrying members of the party, but rather those who love Namibia and those who will be loyal and committed to the implementation of the Swapo Party election manifesto, without fail."
Ngurare cited a list of names of people - some poles apart in their past political outlook - who could be included on such a list, as long as their patriotism and loyalty to the Swapo election manifesto had been proven.
Possible members of the SPYL's list of "patriots", as recited by Ngurare, include Joseph Kauandenge (who has a history of repeatedly changing his party political membership in recent years), The Namibian editor Gwen Lister and journalist Christof Maletsky, Republikein editor Chris Jacobie, New Era editor Rajah Munamava, Max Hamata (the editor of the tabloid newspaper Informanté), Asser Ntinda (editor of the Swapo Party mouthpiece, Namibia Today), Tangeni Amupadhi (editor of the monthly news magazine Insight), Stefan Ludik (who is a former contestant in the reality television programme Big Brother Africa) - and also musician Ees (Eric Sell).
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