Calls for female president stupid – Mulongeni

Former Swapo think tank member Dr Ben Mulongeni has described calls for Namibia’s next president to be a woman as "stupid".Founding president Sam Nujoma is among those who have publicly stated that the country is ready for a female head of state, but added that this should be on merit.Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila and international relations minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah are thought to be in a two-horse race to replace incumbent president Hage Geingob when his term expires in 2025.Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) parliamentarian Elma Dienda is another senior politician who has called for a female president, while former Swapo secretary-general Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, like Nujoma, said such an election should be based on merit.Mulongeni, speaking on The Evening Review on Monday, said: “It’s a very stupid call. You can’t call for a female president, a short president, an albino president, a gay president... where do you stop?”The former NBC director-general continued: “We want a good president. Look at the quality of the president. You need a good president, a competent president, a loving president, a caring president, a patriotic president whose ideology is clear. “If she&#039;s a woman, no problem. [But] just to call for a female president is the most stupid thing to do. Is the gender going to play a role here?” Non-Owambo presidentMulongeni said the calls for non-Owambo president ahead of the 2012 Swapo congress, which is thought to have helped Geingob ascend to power, have backfired.“You got him [Geingob] and now you’re crying. Get a female president and you’ll start crying again. I’m not saying an Omuwambo president is the only good president. I am saying don’t call for a president based on ethnicity. Just call for a good president.”“Now you are bashing Geingob every day, and I pity him. You may support Geingob as president but don’t base it on him being non-Owambo. It’s an insult to demand a president based on his tribe because you’re implying that they are not capable to ascend to power and their only ticket is their tribal identity.” Helmut Amendments ‘idiotic’Nandi-Ndaitwah and Kuugongelwa-Amadhila being the only two in the running is generally attributed to the way the Swapo constitution has been set up, following 2018 amendments that have left many potential contenders out of the race. Christened the ‘Helmut Amendments’, the changes to the constitution require that those vying for top positions in Swapo, such as president, must have served for 10 consecutive years in the central committee.“One of the most idiotic amendments,” Mulongeni said. “There are many cadres who never had time nor made it a point to serve in formal party structures, because they are busy managing parastatals or serving abroad as ambassadors – but they are the best and have been in the party all along, and maybe for longer than someone who meets these requirements.”Zebra style cosmeticContinuing his expletive-laden tirade, Mulongeni also described the adoption of the zebra-styled deployment of women in party structures and parliament as “stupid”. “Even that one is stupid. These things are just attracting mediocrity and they are hijacked by power-hungry people. Semi-educated people dominating the whole show.“If you look at Swapo conferences lately, all they discuss is going to congress. No discussions of policy issues are taking place. These conferences are supposed to discuss socio-economic issues but currently these meetings are only used to quarrel, backstab, rumour-monger, who is supporting who, and that’s it.”

Calls for female president stupid – Mulongeni

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-15

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Calls for female president stupid – Mulongeni

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-15

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