Africa-Press – Namibia. MERITOCRACY, pragmatism and honesty – these are the key values that are necessary for the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) to continue as the ruling party and to deliver their vision, according to the Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo.
The minister made these remarks at the SWAPO Party Women Council leadership orientation that took place in Karasburg on Tuesday, where he stated that the party’s vision must prove to the majority of electorates that the party intends to work towards their socio-economic well-being.
He said the party must also show the electorates that it is capable of translating that vision into a reality. He, therefore, stated that the leaders need to consider the demands of the electorates, how those demands have changed over the years and whether the party’s vision matches with the expectations of the electorate.
The minister further touched on many other topics, ranging from the party’s past successes to the party’s future ambitions. The Minister’s full speech can be read below:
“In any organization, it all starts with its leaders.
I therefore wish to congratulate the new leadership of the SWAPO Party Women Council that was elected earlier this year. You do not have an easy task, but a very important one.
I have no doubt that the reason why you convened this leadership workshop is because you realized the importance of the role played by the leaders of the Women Council. And it is commendable. I’m convinced that you will lead the Women Council for it to continue to be a formidable force within our SWAPO Party.
I am requested to talk about the future of our SWAPO Party. What kind of a Party do we want it to be in the next ten, twenty, or thirty years? However, before I talk about the future, it is equally important to know the past. It is important to know where we come from. Our past has shaped who we are today and will help us to be what we will be tomorrow.
Of course, all of us here know something about our Party. Some perhaps more than others, but we all know something about the SWAPO Party. We know that it was the SWAPO Party that fought for and delivered our independence. We know that it was the SP that maintained the necessary peace and stability that we have enjoyed over the last 32 years. We know it is the SP Government that grew the economy twenty times from what it was at independence.
We know it was under the SP Government where the absolute poverty in the country was reduced by 70%. We, as current leaders of the Party, are fortunate because we are standing on the shoulders of the giants. We therefore have no reason why we cannot use the experience gained from the Party’s former leaders in order to make further progress.
Indeed, the Party has a glorious history and we are all proud of it. There are those who want to make us believe that the SP did nothing for the country over the last 32 years. The unfortunate thing here is that at times precious things are only appreciated when they are lost.
We take it all for granted – after all it is there. And those who found them there, do not always appreciate what it took to bring about such developments. It is therefore our role to educate them.
While we have such a glorious past, let us also guard against becoming prisoners of our past. Our past should only teach us to become the architects of our future.
There is a fine balance between honouring the past and losing ourselves in it. What we ought to realize is that change is the law of life; that change is inevitable. If we look only to the past, we will certainly miss the future.
I posed a question earlier – what kind of a Party do we envision in the next 10, 20, 30 years? I would like to think that all of us wish that the SP continue to be the ruling Party in the country.
If that is the case, the only way that can happen is when we convince the majority of the electorate that as a Party we have a better vision for their socio-economic wellbeing. Not only that we have a vision, but more importantly so is that we convince them that we have the ability to translate the vision into reality.
Therefore, as leaders, we need to start asking ourselves some of the following questions: What does the electorate demand from their leaders? How has that changed over the years? What is our Party’s vision for the future? Does our vision for the future match what the electorate expects from us? Do we have the ability to translate the vision into reality?
In delivering our vision, there are three key factors that are important to our delivery. Someone once said to me that if you want to be a valuable diamond, then you must be prepared to be cut and polished – if not you simply remain a rough diamond.
The three factors I am going to talk about are what successful countries, such as Singapore, embraced and the results are there for everyone to see. The three factors are: meritocracy, pragmatism and honesty.
Meritocracy is when people that are assigned certain tasks and responsibilities such assignments are made on merit. The selection is made based on demonstrated abilities – regardless of the societal status or the ethnicity of the persons so selected.
However, for meritocracy to work, we first have to make sure that everyone has been afforded an equal opportunity to demonstrate their abilities. If we do not do so first, chances are that we are only going to reward those with wealth, education and connections.
Pragmatism is an approach where theories, beliefs and policies are evaluated as good or bad based on the success of their practical application. At times we spend too much time debating, for example, whether our policies are socialist, Marxist or capitalist. When you embrace pragmatism, you choose the one that yields the results you desire. The former Chinese leader, Xiaoping Deng is famously known to have said that “Black cat or white cat, if it can catch mice, it is a good cat”.
The third factor is that of honesty. Honesty is the real foundation for trust in any relationship. And as we know, trust is necessary for any relationship to function. No relationship can last when there is no trust between the parties to the relationship. When we are always honest with someone, it tells them that they can trust us and what we say. It also helps them know they can believe our promises and commitments.
The simple answer to the question of the SP’s future is that the future will be what its leaders decide it to be. And we are the leaders. I once again want to congratulate the SP Women Council leadership on your recent election and I wish you all the success in your leadership role.”
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