Only Swapo Gains From The Marriage With Unions

THE union affiliation to Swapo has never benefitted the workers and will not in the foreseeable future. The only positive for the workers is that their leaders have access to local, regional and national political offices through the ruling party ticket.

In the upcoming election, a few leaders of unions affiliated to the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW), and through the umbrella body to Swapo, will be standing for office.
That is one of the reasons they were opposed to the now-abandoned workers’ march of Wednesday.
The problems at the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) and the approximately N$650 million in capital losses through the Development Capital Portfolio (DCP) investments have received widespread adverse reaction and I don’t intend dwelling too much on that.
But it is astonishing that a report was submitted to Prime Minister Nahas Angula and Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila by Namfisa in August 2007 already by the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority and left to collect dust for such a long time.
Angula is reported as having said that “somebody” assumed that GIPF would have acted on the report.
However, he also did not dismiss the theory that following up on the perpetrators would have been seen as a witch-hunt against former President Sam Nujoma whose brother-in-law Aaron Mushimba and son-in-law David Iimbili were among the recipients of GIPF funds.
According to him 2007 was a “sensitive time”.
It was a ‘sensitive time’ for Swapo because the Rally for Democracy and Progress was formed round about then and would have tried to make political capital of the negative publicity.
The Namfisa report said GIPF lost about N$1,2 billion in opportunity costs. In total the fund lost over N$1,8 billion, it said.
Losing that much money was not as harmful as the pain RDP would have inflicted on Swapo, had the matter became public, it would seem.
A few months after the 2010 national and presidential election NUNW secretary general Evilastus Kaaronda was, however, able to use the very same information to defeat those who attempted to get rid of him.
But there was always a risk that they would strike back and this they did this week.
It is a pity that their revenge came at a cost to the workers despite such leaders being given a very clear mandate at the last NUNW congress to act on GIPF.
For their part, the Namibia National Teachers’ Union (Nantu) took out an advert urging members “to concentrate more on the upcoming national examinations” instead of the demo.
These are the same people who, five years ago, forced Government to improve teachers’ salaries and working conditions. That was while the pupils were busy preparing for exams. Clear double standards at play!
I do also not believe that the demo over the pension money would have affected Swapo’s performance in the upcoming elections.
When Nantu pushed Government for increases and agitated for a demo in 2005, it was also around 50 days before Oshikuku, Ruacana and Okahao had their first elections.
So one is prompted to ask: Which is more important? The impact a two-hour demo might have on the ruling party’s election showing or civil servants losing N$1,2 billion?
As things stand now, the GIPF issue won’t be dealt with after the elections, because everyone will then be going on holiday.
I don’t believe that the workers will take this one lying down. It also deals with their freedom which includes freedom of expression and the right to hold meetings (marches).
Cabinet would be better advised to accelerate their action whilst time is on their side.
If not, the workers will take it upon themselves to recover the money and not even Swapo, the union leaders, or honorary members will stop them.