Stefanus Nashama
Joseph Kauandenge, the Secretary-General of the National Unity Democratic Organisation, lambasted the government in Parliament last week for neglecting the two Kavango regions and allowing their inhabitants to suffer in abject poverty, which, he contended, was palpable.
Kauandenge stated that the poverty in the two regions is so evident that one can already smell it upon entering a town like Rundu.
He accused the Swapo-led government of doing nothing to address the issue and instead turning the residents of these regions into mere “voting cows.”
However, a heated debate erupted when Faustina Caley, the Deputy Minister of Education, Arts, and Culture from Swapo, interjected Kauandenge, expressing offence at the reference to “smelling poverty.”
“Truth hurts, just go to Rundu, Nkurenkuru, or anywhere in Kavango East and West, and you will smell poverty. You do not have to be told about poverty. It is real there,” Kauandenge countered.
Deputy Minister Caley, on the other hand, insisted that she hails from Kavango and has not witnessed poverty in the manner Kauandenge described. She stated that the opposition member had gone too far.
“Honorable Speaker, the motion on the table is not about Kavango poverty. The member has gone too far, I feel insulted. Poverty cannot be in Kavango regions only,” Caley said.
In response, Kauandenge stood by his comments and suggested that Caley’s emotional reaction was due to her affiliation with the “eating group.”
“Just because you are part of the Kavangos that are benefiting, you want us to keep quiet while the rest of the Kavangos are suffering from poverty,” Kauandenge stated.
Kauandenge referenced a national report presented by the government through the Namibia Statistics Agency, which indicates that a higher percentage of people suffering from poverty in the country come from the East and West Kavango regions.
“I am quoting your government’s report. I am not making this up, and I am not the type of politician who speaks without facts,” he said.
Maria Kamutali from the All People’s Party supported Kauandenge’s stance, expressing disappointment with Caley’s attempt to stifle the discussion on poverty in the two regions, solely because she belongs to the ruling party.
“Honorable Speaker, I am from Kavango, but it is painful for the member to rise and try to hide the truth. We are the poorest regions in this country,” Kamutali stated.
