Namibia’s shaky alliance
Relations between the ruling party and the largest labour union turn cold
By Frederico Links
It was only in the early hours of Friday May 1st, that the National Union of Namibian Workers’ (NUNW) leadership elections were finally settled. The poll should have been held the day before and the outcome celebrated as part of the official May Day festivities at the Namibian coastal resort town of Swakopmund. The run-over into the international workers’ holiday was due to fierce politicking on behalf of erstwhile parliamentarian and ex-cabinet level politician Petrus Iilonga—a former unionist, political prisoner and liberation fighter. Mr Iilonga had unexpectedly thrown his hat into the leadership fray at the behest of certain affiliate unions in the weeks leading up to the NUNW’s congress in late April. The election delay underlined the growing rift in the historical bond between Namibia’s largest labour federation and Swapo, the country’s ruling party, formerly the South West Africa People’s Organisation. The fierceness of the support for Mr Iilonga and the opposition to his candidacy also exposed the deep fissures within the country’s largest and oldest organised labour formation.
In the last 15 years schisms have surfaced in the once formidable NUNW front as union bosses increasingly parlayed their positions into high political offices and onto parastatal boards, and even lucrative private sector posts. These opportunistic moves have unleashed a rabid jockeying for position at the highest levels within the NUNW. This leadership strife has run parallel to similar fractiousness playing out within the ruling party over the same period. Swapo played an instrumental role in establishing the union body in late April 1971. But some unionists see this close relationship as increasingly problematic, since the former liberation movement is now the ruling party government and the country’s largest employer. The union elections ultimately installed long-serving executive member Job Muniaro, who had been acting since late 2013 as secretary-general, and Ismael Kasuto, of the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN), as president. Mr Iilonga’s failure to secure the leadership was not for lack of support. He had plenty. He was not elected because as an associate member he was ineligible to stand for office. More than general ignorance of NUNW’s electoral rules was at play.
Mr Iilonga and his backers had opposed the candidacy for Swapo leadership of new Namibian president Hage Geingob in late 2012. Mr Geingob was inaugurated as national president on Independence Day, March 21st, following elections in November 2014, which he won with an overwhelming 87% of the vote. The rejection of Mr Iilonga could not be separated from the perception that he would have used the NUNW as a platform to undermine the nascent Geingob administration.
FIRST FISSURES
Viewed another way, the recent NUNW elections were a culmination of the bruising experiences of the last five years. Leadership strife has wracked the NUNW, which represents more than 70,000 members, since 2010. The notable casualty in this tumultuous period was Evilastus Kaaronda, the charismatic former secretary-general who in late 2012 was unceremoniously ousted, along with NUNW president Elias Manga. Mr Kaaronda was reportedly targeted over his dogged campaign to see politically connected individuals prosecuted over losses incurred by the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF), the civil service pension administrator, through alleged dodgy investments. The GIPF investment saga saw the writing off of more than $650m Namibian dollars (about $93m when the story made headlines in 2007) invested through the late 1990s and early 2000s in various failed schemes and enterprises. This led to three different investigations with no resolution in sight.
Some of those who had profited from these schemes were current and former union bosses. Mr Kaaronda was especially scathing in his attacks on these erstwhile comrades. Mr Kaaronda’s crusade, aside from attracting death threats, caused immense displeasure within ruling party circles and led to his ultimate removal. Since then the NUNW had been led on an interim basis, initially by the fiery Alfred Angula. But he, too, succumbed to scandal: he was arrested in October 2013 and charged with fraud related to his time as head of a NUNW affiliate. The case against Mr Angula was dismissed due to a lack of evidence in late May. Also during this 2012 to 2013 period, rank-and-fi le members started openly challenging the “union barons”. For many, Peter Nevonga, long serving Namibian Public Workers Union (NAPWU) secretary-general, exemplified the leadership rot. He was a GIPF board member in 2010 when the questionable investments were initially investigated. Mr Nevonga has seemingly prospered, juggling the roles of unionist, employer and politician. He served on the boards of some of the entities implicated in the GIPF investment saga and as a result was recalled from the GIPF board in April 2011.
Incidentally, Mr Nevonga was one of Mr Iilonga’s backers at the recent NUNW congress, and he too failed to secure higher office. Mr Nevonga, along with various other union bosses, has become so unpopular that in late 2014 the NAPWU members openly demonstrated against his leadership. Some see his failure at the recent congress as an indication that his days are numbered at the helm of NAPWU, arguably the largest and most powerful amongst the NUNW affiliates. The turmoil at the top of the NUNW has prompted ordinary members to defect to rival labour formations. The Trade Union Congress of Namibia (TUCNA), founded in 2002 and politically unaffiliated, has been making giant strides in the organised labour sphere. It currently claims more than 40,000 members. TUCNA’s publicity savvy secretary-general, Mahongora Kavihuha, has cultivated the image of solidity while promoting TUCNA as a viable alternative. And Mr Kaaronda has not gone quietly, forming the Namibia National Labour Organisation (NANLO) in late 2013. While membership figures are unavailable, NANLO also appears to be growing strongly.
Further compounding the NUNW’s woes is the perception that its political partner, ruling party Swapo, is beginning to engage in union busting. In January 2015 it emerged that the Swapo government was considering declaring various sectors, from transportation to mining and the media, as “essential services”, thus severely curtailing labour’s right to strike. While this prompted loud denunciation from TUCNA, the NUNW has so far only managed muted criticism. The discernible discomfort of the new NUNW leadership must be seen against this backdrop. As its rivals gain ground, it appears that all pronouncements from the NUNW leadership are likely to be undermined by the continuing lack of assertiveness in relations with the ruling party.
