Washington, DC — In the third and final part of an interview with allAfrica.com's Charles Cobb Jr. and Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, Namibia's Trade Minister, Hidipo Hamutenya, discusses domestic politics and his country's relations with its close neighbours.
The perennial presidential 'third term' issue continues to hover over Africa. Namibia was something of a pioneer in this regard, and President Sam Nujoma is currently serving a third term. At independence in 1990, the constitution limited your president to two terms. Why was it changed and what do the Namibian people want in this regard?
When we sat down to reflect on the demand we were hearing, the noise up there, we heard: "We want Sam Nujoma once more". I was one of the drafters of the Namibian constitution. Now you draft a piece of paper that runs counter to the will of the people, and they say, "our will must be first". [So] we allowed a third term to take place.
We appreciate what you're saying about the (third) term. But you see, I think people must be very careful. In the context of Namibia, Samuel Nujoma is a very towering figure. If people [in other countries] are going to want to imitate Sam Nujoma, they are making a mistake.
When we allowed the third term to take place, Sam Nujoma won a higher percentage than our own political party, SWAPO (South West Africa People's Organisation). They voted individually for him. He was much higher than SWAPO, the ruling party, which means the man is popular. And I am sure that even now if he were to run for a fourth term, he would win hands down, there's no two ways about that one.
What about that feeling in Africa about leaders who stay on and on and on. How fresh can they be?
Well, people should not mix up different situations too easily. We must not compare two incomparable things. We were emerging out of a long struggle, and in that struggle Sam Nujoma stood tall for three decades, nearly four decades. He had won the hearts and the minds of the people of Namibia, so they wanted him around for some time, at least to solidify the independence we had achieved through that very difficult struggle.
Now if somebody just stands up in every country and says I am going for a third term, then they are making a mistake trying to compare themselves with someone with whom they are not on par.
So are you saying it's fine for a president to say on and on?
No, no. He's leaving. He's announced he's retiring now in two years' time. By the year 2004 he will be leaving. He has made it clear that he is not going to run anymore:
So we are not going to hear Sam Nujoma say in 2004, well the people say I should stay on for another term?
No. In any case, it is not easy. He would have to go to parliament. He would have to convince parliament to do it. And when he went for a third term, he said: I will not be back. So I don't see a chance for members of parliament to want to go back and say we want Nujoma for a fourth term. It's not on.
Is there a scramble now, is there political jostling in Namibia for the succession to President Nujoma?
No, there's no scramble. Not that I know of.
Not even quietly behind the scenes?
Maybe! That's the nature of politics, isn't it? (Laughs).
With recent developments in Angola, your neighbour, and a ceasefire in effect between the government and Unita, that country is in motion, possibly towards elections, or at least a political resolution of this long conflict. This has implications for Namibia - politically and economically.
Yes indeed. We are happy that at long last, peace has descended on Angola and
And do you think Unita and the MPLA government are serious?
Yeah, I think Unita doesn't want to fight any further, beyond Savimbi. And that's good for us. We want to see Angola getting started with its economic reconstruction. We want to do business. Last week, (President) Sam Nujoma traveled to Luanda with a delegation of 100 businessmen, Namibian businessmen. Yesterday I was talking on the phone. I was getting a briefing and was told that went well. Deals were cut, allowing Angolans and Namibians to know what to do.
There are enormous opportunities in the areas of agriculture, great venture partnerships are possible in the areas of fishing, trading, manufacturing. There's a lot we can do together with Angola and we are really optimistic that something will emerge that resembles economic cooperation between our two countries, indeed within the context of the region in the next two-three years. We think Angola is now putting its mind to the rejuvenation of its economy.
Now they have been stuck in this war for so many years now, it's going to take a while for them to be able to think clinically about what should be done and how to fast track the pace. It's not going to be easy. Some people have been in there, in the government for a long time. And they were just concerned about their survival from day to day. Now they have to think in a long-term perspective. They need to be able to work at a pace beyond what they've been doing this far, and there will be opportunity. Whether they will be able to seize it and take full charge of the situation, and improve the condition of their people in the shortest possible time, that remains to be seen. We hope they will.
What are the security and stability implications of the new-found peace in Angola? Because, of course not so long ago you conducted hot pursuit raids across the border, chasing 'rebels' and accusing Unita's Jonas Savimbi of harboring these rebels.
Yeah, that's done now. It's a done deal. Unita is in no position to do anything of that sort now. They are surrendering, Unita fighters, to our government as well. Almost every day they are surrendering. Over in the border area, they are surrendering to us and we are sending them back to Angola.
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What about your own Namibian rebellion?
Ah, that one was snuffed out at the time it popped up. That was in August 1999. It was supported by Savimbi, of course, and instigated by him, but it didn't have any roots internally so it's finished. We are not concerned about that one.
I can tell you that Namibia continues to enjoy peace and stability. We are continuing to consolidate peace and stability.
We have a level of law in place, which is fairly entrenched. Nobody would worry you about that one. Our media is vibrant, never mind what you are about to hear. We have never since independence arrested any single journalist or tried any journalist. No journalist was ever arrested or tried or sent to prison for saying what they say in the press. We have a very vigorous press. They are free to do whatever they want to do. They say whatever they want to say - no arrest!
It's the same for the opposition. We have got four opposition parties in parliament. It's small, yes. But they say whatever they want to say. They are very cantankerous and very vocal. No member of the opposition has ever been harassed or intimidated or arrested. So, we think our democracy is working. We are proud of that.
