Out-going Namibian President wins Mo Ibrahim US $5 million African Leadership Award

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out-going Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba
out-going Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba

NAMIBIA A SHINING EXAMPLE FOR AFRICA – NEVERS
Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) President Dr. Nevers Sekwila Mumba has congratulated out-going Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba for being awarded the prestigious Mo Ibrahim US$ 5 million African Leadership Award set up by the Sudanese telecom tycoon in 2007.

This award has been given only 3 times since its introduction. It is given to African leaders who demonstrate “exceptional leadership” and recipients so far are former Cape Verde President Pedro de Verona Rogrigues Pires, Mozambique’s Joachim Chissano and Botswana’s Festus Mogae. An honorary award was also given to late South African President Nelson Mandela.

“We are inspired by the example Namibia is setting for Africa where a former president can keep his word in retiring from active politics and support his successor and fund-raise and campaign for him as have done former Presidents Hifikepunye Pohamba and Sam Nujoma,” said Dr. Mumba. The Namibian government invited President Edgar Lungu, former president Mr. Rupiah Banda and former minister Dr. Vernon J Mwaanga and for the inauguration of the in-coming president Dr. Hage Geingob.

“This is the role that is befitting for someone of Mr. Banda’s stature and is what the New Hope MMD has been advocating for and echoed by many Zambians including former First Lady Maureen Mwanawasa that Zambia needed a father figure, a statesman respected on the global stage to represent the country at fora such as this upcoming inauguration ceremony and to mediate in conflict areas in various parts of Africa”. Dr. Mumba said Africa has very few elderly leaders left from the 1960s independence era that we can look up to for guidance and it is the sincere wish of the MMD that Mr. Banda devotes his life to such causes.

In a separate development, MMD National Secretary Mr Mwansa Mbulakulima is saddened by some troubling information reaching his office alleging that former President Rupiah Banda has hatched yet another scheme to continue the destabilization of the MMD and frustrate the steady progress being made in healing the party.

In this latest scheme, Mr. Banda is allegedly working with a known businessman with strong political ambitions and has sent some expelled individuals to provinces to collect signatures and “sponsor” demonstrations against the legitimately elected leadership of the party to create room for himself to make another attempt at taking charge of the party.

“We hope that this story is not true as the party needs to heal and move on as there is no time for any unnecessary fights because we are now preoccupied with providing leadership in the healing process of the party as MMD should now be moving towards genuine reconciliation and unity,” he said.

Mr. Mbulakulima has further appealed to all genuine members of the party countrywide who may be approached to be used in this diabolical scheme to desist from being part of it.

He noted that Zambia sadly seems to be falling behind and is now becoming the student to other nations instead of the teacher, despite being a pioneer nation in championing the liberation struggle for countries like Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Angola, and being the first to reintroduce multi-party politics in the Southern African region in 1991.

http://mmdzambia.org/…/namibia-a-shining-example-for-afric…/

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