Silly election season is upon us
ONE could not help but share views on Namibia’s upcoming elections in November 2024, especially the highly-anticipated presidential election, where seemingly ideas have run out by some contenders who think winning is hauling those personal attacks.
That should never be part of the playbook.
Just because it is election time, let this not be a silly season where character assassination and the like will win the day.
There is so much to talk about and tell the Namibian people than wasting time on questioning one’s age. Surely, there are better things to promise the electorates than pounding sand.
Today, thousands of Namibians – young and old – remain unemployed, many are still landless, infrastructure development is found wanting, destituteness is becoming a norm, gender-based violence robs families of loved ones, suicide scares us all, students cannot see a way of paying for their university studies, exploitation and abuse of Namibian workers is a daily occurrence.
Many in the working class are living from hand to mouth, and many other issues are worth addressing. Those are the ‘nightmares’ the masses want to hear solutions to.
It is not about age.
Old age is not a disability, but with it comes maturity, experience, stability, tolerance and a bigger vision to advance the interest of a country. To join the race, the presidential hopefuls must bring bright ideas to the table, rather than thinking a youthful face will buy a one-way ticket to State House.
To refresh, in October 2023, yours truly penned an article that was published by the same esteemed newspaper where the question was, ‘Who was going to fill the Geingob void’?
With the clock ticking, Namibians must now seriously consider the question rather than ending up caught up with a fly-by-night presidential aspirant with no vision.
Namibia is not a guinea pig, but wants a president who has been tried, and tested and remains true to championing the Namibian quest for economic emancipation – after political freedom - where no one will feel left out. With the right leadership, Namibia could be a success story where all can feed on that milk and honey.
For anyone to run around claiming that Swapo’s Presidential candidate, the current vice-president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is too old or a pensioner to run for the presidency, is living in a world of the dead. One does not run for political office because of age, but of one’s political conviction to bring about change.
As things stand today, amongst many presidential contenders, the vice president is the only one coming in with a vast rich experience of governance – filled with wisdom – at the national and