Swapo should not be generalised as ‘corrupt’ - Mumbala
KEETMANSHOOP - Swapo party //Kharas regional coordinator, Matheus Mumbala said there is no law enforcing political party beneficiaries to establish the origin of the fund donations they receive.
He reasoned as such during Swapo’s recent regional executive committee meeting in Keetmanshoop, nominating candidates to fill the vacant position of information and mobilisation officer position that is currently vacant.
Referring to the heated ‘Fishrot’ saga, he strongly emphasised that the Swapo party was not quiet on it, as it does not condone the evil of corruption. “The accused ones have been arrested and the country’s independent justice system will now take its course,” he explained.
“If some members in a household act in a corrupt manner, does that then imply that the whole household is also corrupt,” he asked rhetorically.
Mumbala went on that the party received numerous donations in the past without establishing the origin of such money and thus it cannot be held responsible if such money emanates from illicit activities. “You should label those carrying out illegal practices as corrupt, not the party at large,” he said.
He noted the economic status of the region is slowing down in addition to business levels declining. “This becomes more visible with the ongoing retrenchments of mineworkers as well as workers in the fishing and hospitality industries,” he said.
The firebrand politician also said the aftermath of the 2019 drought is still prevailing, leaving many farmers devastated. He however, argued that there are huge volumes of water in the newly constructed Neckartal Dam that needs to be utilised optimally.
He said leaders in the region’s mind should urgently start to explore innovations because the nation will remain vulnerable due to inadequate food production, continuously depending on the importation of food and essential services from neighbouring countries.
“We must propose sustainable strategies and ways to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform to benefit from funding and programmes available in terms of agriculture.
Mumbala said government should urgently look into not creating many state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that are costly since it requires a lot of operational funding to pay boards of directors of these institutions. “Some of these SOEs are most of the time operating on losses,” he said.
During the meeting, he called on the Ministry of Defence Veteran Affairs to expedite payments for the establishment of projects to war veterans of the liberation struggle for them to benefit accordingly whilst still alive.
“We further call on the same ministry to ensure that vetting processes are executed speedily to accord those who deserve the status of war veteran of the liberation struggle accordingly.”