The former president Sam Nujoma said Swapo’s candidate for the Walvis Bay Urban will be required to inculcate the principles of unity of action and purpose through all ranks and files and implore the slogan Swapo is the People and the People are Swapo.
Nujoma was the main speaker at a rally held on Saturday to campaign for the party’s candidate Sirie Topulathana in the forthcoming Walvis Bay Urban by-election set for 15 Jan. 2020.
The seat became vacant after the resignation of the former Walvis Bay Urban councillor, Hafeni Ndemula, in Nov. 2019 when he chose to contest in the presidential and national elections.
Nujoma said Topulathana will prioritise the provision of decent housing, something which the party and government have been working hard to do.
Topulathana will tussle it out with fellow Swapo members – the former boxing promoter, Knowledge Ipinge and community activist Kenneth Iilonga.
Nujoma, who is in retirement, said Topulathana Similarly, will undertake other efforts to expedite housing delivery, such as forming smart partnerships with the business corporate in Walvis Bay, such as Namport, Erongo Red, fishing companies and others to facilitate the acquisition of land by these companies to build houses for their employees.
“In terms of education and schooling, the establishment of a maritime school in Walvis Bay by the University of Namibia is a welcome development. We thank the local authority for facilitating the allocation of land for this purpose,” Nujoma said.
The former president said the land made available by the council at Farm 37 where backyard shack dwellers and some people from Twaloloka will move, gives Topulathana achieve the housing provision goal.
The Walvis Bay municipal council allocated N$107 million of its N$314 million capital budget to land development projects for the 2019/2020 financial year.
Farm 37 is one those targeted under the Walvis Bay council’s land developmental projects where they will build schools, clinics and churches, as soon as services are installed.
According to Nujoma, Topulathana will spearhead initiatives by, among others, visiting different schools, orphanages, old age homes, and hospitals to send a message of hope to our most vulnerable people.
Nujoma also said that he was delighted that the government was addressing the plight of the fishermen and sea-going workers.
“I am equally happy that now a fair method of allocation of fishing quotas is going to be implemented,” he said, adding that people must continue to fight against evils of tribalism, sexism, corruption and violence against women and children which aim to subvert our national development agenda.
