Plain sailing for successor

2004-11-18 13:23

Jannie Ferreira

Windhoek - "After November 15, (Hifikepunye) Pohamba and (President Sam) Nujoma will stand at the ship's helm while the opposition, as usual, arranges the deck chairs.

"And there are virtually no icebergs in sight," the Windhoek monthly, Insight, summarised the political landscape in Namibia.

This country's general and presidential elections took place on Monday and Tuesday and expectations are that Pohamba, presidential candidate of the ruling Swapo party, will secure a landslide victory.

But when Pohamba takes over from Nujoma in March, the outgoing president will remain president of Swapo. He will be perfectly placed to keep a watchful eye over his successor's while whispering instructions in his ear.

Although some Namibians hoped that he would stay on, the majority is glad that Nujoma honoured the Namibian constitution by stepping down.

The once Marxist Swapo is now a moderate socio-democratic, pro-capitalist party and, despite several wild statements, many people believe that Nujoma governed well.

The Swapo government deserves praise for the responsible way in which it managed land reform. This is probably the biggest difference between Namibia and Zimbabwe.

"Government practises land reform strictly according to the law. No farms have been expropriated," says Sakkie Coetzee, chief executive of the Namibian agricultural union.

Taken a dip on the human development index

Despite recent pressure to step up the pace, government is actually ahead of its own schedule, Coetzee explains.

"Government realises that we are economically too sensitive for this type of thing (illegal farm occupations). That is why there is always a strong police presence when something like that is in the air.

" Our economy relies heavily on the tourism sector and we cannot afford to send out the wrong signal," Coetzee says.

However, it is disconcerting to note that Namibia dropped 59 places on the United Nations' human development index. This is the result of the increased incidence of HIV/Aids, which is estimated at 21%. The average life expectancy has already dropped to about 40 years - 25 years fewer than in 2001.

The Namibian elections were not really issue-bound, but land reform, HIV/Aids, voter apathy and secessionists in the Caprivi Strip, who wants to proclaim their own nation because they are being "neglected", were mentioned.

- Media24 Africa