By: Justicia Shipena
Swapo party secretary-general (SG) Sophia Shanigwa says she is not refusing the SG chair.
She said this at the Swapo party youth league (SPYL) central committee meeting in the capital upon delivering her keynote address. At this meeting, SPYL elected members of the national executive committee and 15 delegates that will carry its banner at the upcoming Swapo elective congress.
Nominations for the candidates for top positions are set to be released this Monday.
Shanigwa stressed that the SG chair belongs to the public.
“I should also indicate that I am not refusing to leave the chair of SG. The chair and the seat of the SG do not belong to an individual. It belongs to the public. It is a public seat,” she said.
In this vein, she further stamped that members should not quarrel about the seat and that when the time comes to leave she will do so gladly.
“Therefore there is no way that you should quarrel about me, sitting here, you wait for my time. When my time arrives for me to go. I will definitely go with no quarrel,” she said.
“I didn’t vote for myself, I was voted, voted nicely.”
At the same event, she lashed on at the media, stating that media platforms are busy trying to validate the point that she had invited herself to the youth meeting.
“Listen here! I don’t invite myself, I got invited as a good motivator and encourager of the youth members to take over when I have to ‘chaila’ (retire) like other people.”
She added that there was a reason why SPYL invited her.
“And the reason is none other than a motivator, a truthful encourager of the youth and those who want to take up the lead for Swapo party in an honest way and not the cowards,” she adds.
Delivering her keynote address Shanigwa said issues of individualism should be set aside, stating that the youth members should not sleep on the job.
“We are politicians we are leaders because there are a whole lot of millions behind us that are looking at us to bring upon a difference in their lives. Don’t be put in a position and then you go and sleep. Don’t go and sleep and enjoy the comfort of the position. There is no comfortability in any position, it is about hard work,” she expressed.
“You should encourage yourself that wherever you are entrusted to deliver when one day you have to go off that seat, you should not be ashamed to look back and say you were there. You should leave your mark that indeed you were there as a responsible representative.”
Furthermore, she said she is expecting the youth members to start building a tough political scheme.
“This area is not for the soft fainted people. If you faint softly excuse yourself because the heat might be too hot and you will not survive. You must be tough no matter the storm. You must be a defender no matter the storm,” she said.
She concluded that Swapo defenders cannot be pretenders.
“Swapo defenders cannot be pretenders, and therefore you must be defenders of this party for this party to go on and survive.”
