SECRETARY general of the Swapo-affiliated National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) Job Muniaro has told the Swapo Party Women’s Council (SPWC) to avoid being bought with money to elect the “wrong leaders” into various party positions.
Muniaro spoke Friday at Outapi’s SPWC Induction Workshop.
He said women should not be “wheelbarrow pushers of the wrong people into positions”.
“People who don’t know Swapo politics and come with a N$10 000 in their pocket tell you ‘ I am the best’. The money is the best, not the person,” he said.
Muniaro stated that money is not the problem in the party, but leadership.
“You can’t lead with money. You can lead with your brain,” he said.
Muniaro told SPWC to love, respect and trust the Swapo
He encouraged the women to vote for and support each other.
“The war in your hearts that is only known to you as women is destroying you. You harbor hatred in your heart and you protect it by smiling. That smile is called a political smile,” he said.
“Don’t give the key for women to men and expect 50/50 gender representation. Women must be honest and open with their female counterparts. Stand for your rights as women and groom yourself,” he said.
Muniaro, when contacted yesterday for comment, stated that his remarks were meant strengthen the SPWC as well as to rekindle the trust in the party.
“It was to encourage them to vote for the people who will be changing their lives and grow the country’s economy. No one should try to buy their way into leadership positions. They may not deliver. Women should not be bought. Leadership is groomed,” he said.
Fransina Kahungu, leader of SPWC, said yesterday that she didn’t hear Muniaro talk about women being bought in order to elect people to positions.
This is not the first instance of the misuse of money to influence the outcome at a congress.
In November 2017, James Sankwasa, former deputy minister for works and transport, claimed that Swapo’s 2017 congress, in which president Hage Geingob won a landslide victory with his Team Harambee, was marred by bribery.
Sankwasa said the so-called Fishrot corruption scandal money “did not only cause external damage, but equally internal damage” to Swapo as congress delegates “were paid to vote only for candidates on the green list and not the red list”.
The money allegedly dished out to delegates is believed to be part of N$75 million reportedly paid into the trust accounts of law firms De Klerk, Horn & Coetzee (DHC) Inc, and Sisa Namandje & Co from the National Fishing Corporation of Namibia (Fishcor) to fund Swapo campaigns, including the 2017 elective congress.
Geingob received 577 votes in the 2017 election congress, Jerry Ekandjo got 53, and Nahas Annula 39.
Netumbo Nandi–Ndaitwah won the vice-president’s position with 552 votes. Pendukeni Iivula–Ithana came in second with 194 votes. Helmut Angula received 20 votes.
With 524 votes, Secretary General Sophia Shaningwa won. Armas Amukwiyu was second with 243 votes.
Marco Hausiku was elected deputy secretary general. Petrina Haiingura came in second with 118 votes and Martha Namundjebo–Tilahun was third with 102 votes.
Iivula Ithana claimed that 2020 delegates were bribed. She said the signs were present before and after Swapo Congress where Geingob was elected party president.
“One just didn’t know where that money came from. All signs indicated that money was being splashed. We learnt that people were given envelopes with money after the congress,” she said.
Source: namibian
