Mbumba urges Swapo, ANC to put citizens first

President Nangolo Mbumba says heads of state should be focused on placing the needs of their citizenry ahead of that of their political parties.

He made the remarks following an interview with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) during a working visit to meet South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa.

“We are ruling parties, but everybody wants to be a ruling party. We have to make sure that we behave in such a way that the interests of our own countries come first - even above our concerns, even above our parties,” Mbumba said.

It was up to political parties to take care of their own interests, while presidents deal with the needs of their countries first, he said.

“As presidents, our first duty is to make sure that everybody in South Africa is safe and lives in peace; everybody in Namibia is free and lives in peace,” he said.

Disinterest in presidency

Mbumba also touched on the race for the presidency - with elections due to take place on 27 November - reaffirming his stance that he was not interested in running for the position in earnest.

He added that Swapo would throw its weight behind the party’s current vice-president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

“I am not available for elections. Swapo has a candidate, a lady candidate. We will campaign for her. We belong to the same party. That is what we are thinking, that is what we are planning, so that is going to happen,” he said.

Mbumba said he was not keen to ascend to the presidency after late president Hage Geingob's death, describing the move as challenging.

“I was reluctant because I had worked with Geingob for many years. It was challenging in terms of how we felt. We really felt robbed of a leader. We felt punished by ill-health, by death. We were down, but in terms of our own constitution, it was very clear.”