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Geingob blames poverty on apartheid


PRESIDENT Hage Geingob said Namibia’s current high poverty rate is a repercussion of the apartheid system the country became independent from 32 years ago.

Geingob was speaking during the annual Heroes Day commemoration held at Mariental over the weekend.

“The effects of this dehumanising policy of apartheid are still visible today, in the form of widespread abject poverty among our people that the Namibian government is addressing increasingly,” Geingob said.

This follows Geingob last week blaming colonialism for the developmental and economic challenges faced by the country.

He said this in response to the World Bank last year citing that 1,6 million Namibians live in poverty.

The Namibian government has previously said it has lifted more than 70% of the population out of extreme poverty since independence.

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Speaking at the same occasion, governor of the Hardap region Solomon April said it is clear that Namibia’s freedom and independence did not come on a silver platter. Therefore, April said he is perplexed that some individuals say Heroes Day commemorations are a waste of taxpayers money, nonsense and rubbish.

At a press conference last week, Landless People’s Movement (LPM) leader Bernadus Swartbooi described the commemoration of Heroes Day as a glorified Swapo rally, which the party would not take part in.

LPM also took issue with the central government for reportedly not notifying the LPM led Hardap Regional Council (HRC) of the upcoming commemorations.

He said Heroes Day commemorations have become elite events which are no longer about heroes.

“This Heroes Day is rubbish. It is not about heroes, if it was we would have joined. Maybe the more useless you are, the more you get recognised as a hero. We are not going to attend this nonsense,” Swartbooi said.

“If I think of people like Hendrik ‘Oupa !Nanseb’ Witbooi, who said we will die fighting, I’m perplexed that people who call themselves Namibians can distance themselves from remembering and commemorating such heroes.

“This soil that we are standing on can testify to the lives that waged their wars here and sacrificed their lives. Therefore, we will not allow people who were born yesterday to diminish the sacrifices of our ancestors,” said April.

In protest, LPM instead held a street renaming ceremony at Mariental on Heroes Day, honouring local heroes like the late chief of the Kai-//Khaun tribe from Hoachanas Simon Petrus Kooper, former minister of education, arts and culture Katrina Hanse-Himarwa, Mathys Cronje and Josef Motinga.

HRC chairperson Gershon Dausab said the late Kooper deserves recognition for his staunch support of the restoration and recognition of people’s dignity, as well as fighting for fairness.

Kooper was the longest serving chief of the Kai-//Khaun, leading for 37 years and promoting the development of the community and preservation of cultural heritage. He also served as the chairperson of the Nama Traditional Leaders Association, and was vocal on the issue of reparations for the Nama-Herero genocide by Germany for descendants of affected communities.

Hanse-Himarwa was lauded for empowering thousands of unqualified relief teachers to obtain their qualifications and increase their salaries, thereby making a socio-economic difference in their lives.

“We want to honour them while they are still living. These people improved the lives of ordinary Namibians. They made a difference to their homes, to the lives of these peoples’ children and to their well-being,” said Dausab.

“I was committed to the Heroes Day programme, where the president was speaking on the day and could therefore not attend. However, this street renaming has been on the Mariental council’s table since 2016 and I already accepted it,” said Hanse-Himarwa.

The Kai-//Khaun Traditional Authority, however, requested time to prepare themselves to play a role in the programme.

“Today we will only unveil the plaque of Josef Motinga. We want to provide the Kai-//Khaun Traditional Authority and the families of both Hanse-Himarwa and Kooper the opportunity to attend, therefore we will do it another time,” said Dausab.





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