Africa-Press – Namibia. The leader of the Popular Democratic Movement, McHenry Venaani, yesterday pressed President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to urgently prioritise transparency in the country’s booming petroleum sector to tackle joblessness and lack of housing.
With Namibia on the brink of its first oil production and youth unemployment estimated at over 40%, Venaani described his meeting with the President at State House as “very deep and constructive”, but made it clear that oil governance and economic direction dominated the high-level talks.
“We addressed the petroleum issue in depth, honestly and boldly,” Venaani said in a side interview after the meeting, where he added that nothing was left to chance as everything was on the table.
Although he declined to reveal specific details of their exchange, Venaani confirmed he left the President with a clear task of focusing on energy on unemployment, housing and economic stimulation and ensure the oil sector benefits ordinary Namibians.
“My advice is that we need to concentrate our energy. The government should not be all over the place. It must focus on the crisis of unemployment, housing, stimulate the economy, and invest in agriculture so that we create a baseline for absorption of jobs and food security,” he said.
He stressed that oil revenues must not distract from structural reforms in agriculture, including desert farming and better use of perennial rivers, which he said are key to long-term food security.
Venaani also cautioned against rushing policies beyond State capacity, specifically referring to proposals for government employees to use public health facilities.
“The idea is very noble, but we are not yet there. The capacity of our hospitals at this point in time cannot carry that. We must prepare ourselves much better,” he said.
The PDM leadership held talks yesterday morning with the President at State House, where Nandi-Ndaitwah described the meeting as a long-overdue consultation with political parties represented in Parliament.
The meeting forms part of the President’s earlier commitment to engage all political parties individually before delivering her second State of the Nation Address.
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Among the key issues raised for discussion was youth unemployment, which the opposition party wants declared a national crisis.
“We brought a motion in 2021 that youth unemployment should be declared a national crisis and that a task force be established. It is a very critical issue that we want us to leave this meeting with a new understanding of how we are going to tackle,” Venaani underlined.
In addition to youth unemployment, the PDM delegation signalled its intention to address agriculture, land reform, housing, road infrastructure, tribalism, the petroleum bill and ongoing genocide talks.
Venaani also thanked the President for what he described as a “bold step” in recognising the Rehoboth Baster community’s traditional authority, saying the move would help harmonise traditional leadership structures in the country.
Welcoming the delegation, Nandi-Ndaitwah said she did not want to approach her next State of the Nation Address without fulfilling her promise of consultations with national leaders. “When I presented my first State of the Nation Address, I said I was going to meet all political parties represented in the National Assembly for one-on-one consultation. I don’t want to go to the second State of the Nation Address without fulfilling that promise,” she said. The President added that the timing of the meeting could prove beneficial, as her administration has now been in office longer and is in a stronger position to engage meaningfully on policy matters.
In a notable moment, Nandi-Ndaitwah reflected on remarks previously made in the National Assembly by Venaani, who had warned that her presidency “cannot dare to fail.”
“Your first words in the National Assembly are part of the words that are pushing me to really serve the people,” she said, quoting his statement that Namibia must not become “a retrogressive state.”
Venaani, leading the PDM delegation, said the party was elated to engage the Head of State on pressing socio-economic challenges affecting the country.
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