Africa-Press – Namibia. The Rally for Democracy and Progress has hinged its 2024 electoral campaign on ending high unemployment levels, ensuring food security and nipping graft in the bud.
This is contained in a missive, obtained by this reporter, issued by RDP president and former lawmaker Mike Kavekotora last week.
In it, the executive-cum-politician shared RDP’s vision for Namibia ahead of November’s decisive polls, which are expected to separate pretenders from contenders in what is expected to be a crowded road to State House and the National Assembly.
While many have written the RDP off, Kavekotora has been adamant they are still a force to be reckoned with.
He said RDP will mainly focus on providing necessities needed by all to survive if given the mandate to govern.
“Our focus will be on the provision of affordable shelter to the less privileged,” Kavekotora said.
This, he said, will be done by incorporating affordable construction methodologies, and relaxing some municipal rules and regulations.
RDP wants to create “sustainable jobs in our main economic sectors of agriculture, fisheries, mining, tourism as well as small and medium enterprises. Unleashing the growth potential in these sectors will create enormous employment opportunities for Namibians”.
“Fighting corruption and illicit financial flows will become our preoccupation. No stone will be left unturned to bring the culprits to book – and where possible, to recover what has been taken from Treasury fraudulently. That will form part of what Namibians can expect from RDP,” he campaigned.
Ruling party
Kavekotora then accused the ruling party of having failed the nation.
“Having travelled to many parts of this country since I left Parliament, Namibians confirmed that Swapo has over the years failed miserably in attending to the basic human needs of the Namibian people. Swapo did not manage to address poverty in a sustainable manner, and merely relied on social grants as their main mode of addressing poverty.
“The much-hailed mass housing project was a mess and only managed to transfer money from the Treasury to the politically-connected tenderpreneurs. Many houses derived from that project are either unoccupied or vandalised, as we speak.
“The housing backlog currently hovers around 340 000 units, and it is increasing. No sustainable jobs were created during Swapo’s entire tenure in office. Qualified Namibians are roaming the streets, while some jobs in government are occupied by those holding fake qualifications, consequently affecting effectiveness and productivity negatively,” he claimed. Efforts to obtain comment from Swapo proved futile.
Kavekotora also diagnosed the country’s education system as a critical contributor to unemployment, joblessness and other social evils such as crime, alcohol abuse and gender-based violence. “The youth is one segment of the Namibian population worse-affected, and unemployment among the youth is anything between 50% to 70%, depending on the location one is assessing,” he said.
Potential
The ex-lawmaker then noted that the fishing sector once more demonstrated its potential to create much-needed jobs in the economy.
“The N$3 billion foreign earning in 2023 is a clear testimony of the growth potential of the sector if the government can get out of its cocoon and do the right things. My motion on reducing the seal population in our waters is collecting dust, to the detriment of starving and job-hungry Namibians,” he said.
According to Kavekotora, it is time for anyone aspiring or running for public office to put the country’s interests first.
“It’s time for the Namibian government to conduct the affairs of the State in the best interest of Namibians, in compliance with the Namibian Constitution. It is the practice across the globe and Africa in general, and particularly Namibia cannot be the exception.
“All these foreign countries are fighting for their own economic survival, and are determined to grow their local markets. We suffered for far too long by trying to please former colonisers and upcoming economic sharks,” he said.
In the National Assembly, Kavekotora was replaced by Kennedy Shekupakela.
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