Long Live Namibia
By Dr. Elijah Ngurare

Born as a free nation 20 years ago, Namibia is celebrating on 21st March 2010 milestones of political stability, peace and national independence. Indeed, our country is sovereign, democratic and free forever.

The SWAPO Party Youth League (SPYL) believes that independence for the Namibian people was an important historical opportunity to change the lives of all the people of Namibia for the better. As a vanguard revolutionary movement, we have always remained hopeful and advocated that the State will continue to transform in such a way that its institutions, values and output achieve the progressive ideals of socio-economic equity and justice.

It is therefore this call we wish to make and repeat on the eve of our 20th independence anniversary. In other words, the state must drive change in our society. In this regard, no sphere of the state must be immune from transformation, the Executive, Legislature, Judiciary and the Economy should all serve the broad national interest of the people and must continue to change in such a way that they meet the expectations of our masses, failing to do so would be a grave betrayal of their trust. The SWAPO Party Youth League as the custodian of the young people’s hopes and aspirations assures the nation of its full commitment to carry out that mandate.

Independence is the most important historical event in the history of Namibia. It shall forever define the exact moment at which Namibia embraced democracy, national unity, reconciliation, nationhood and the common good. Namibia is forever free and its youth has patriotic reason to be hopeful. We wish to take this opportunity to thank our forbearers and those revolutionaries who have come before us, for having bequeathed to us this great inheritance. We call on the youth of our nation to infuse our Independence Day celebration with the necessary youthfulness and vitality and to support the various activities organized nationally.

It is imperative, that in this historic era of our lifetime we must, at all material times, address the matter of genuine empowerment and for that matter we as SWAPO Party Youth League (SPYL) are advocating for guided empowerment. This implies that companies should be required to adhere to the policy of 51% Namibian control and ownership including any company awarded a tender or contract by Government Ministries/Offices/Agencies or those with rights over our national natural resources.

Furthermore, guided empowerment should include a stake by national youth development organizations notably NYC and NYS as an investment in the future of our country. The SPYL also calls upon our government along with all local authority councils in Namibia to work with the NYC in order to ensure young people have access to subsidized housing and business ervens as well as housing and finance. In addition we call on our Minister for Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development to monitor and take action against those local authorities who have a habit of alienating large tracks of valuable land including historical buildings (as in the case of Swakopmund) to foreign and absentee owners. Provision must also be made to control or scrap altogether the mushrooming of so called “Golf Estates”, one cannot help but note that all of them that have come under our attention thus far, deliberately seem to appeal to certain racial interest. Namibia has a harsh history of racial and class segregation. Any efforts that, in our view, perpetuate segregation on class or racial grounds should be opposed, any law in our view that facilitates such arrogant and insolent development should also be repealed as they undermine our shared and collective destiny. Similarly, we shall strive to engage with the Minister of Finance, to compel companies that are active in all facets of the national economy to allocate at least 50% of their corporate social responsibly spending for youth development. Companies failing to comply should attract punitive measures such as taxes of up to 5 % of profits.

It is also our considered position that all Government Ministries/Offices/Agencies including GIPF be compelled as a matter of urgency to review the law firms currently contracted by them and ensures that preference is given to law firms that have worked in the interest of the people of Namibia, as oppose to those who stand in contradiction to Political Programme of the SWAPO Party and its 2009 Election Manifesto. The realistic and practical amplification of our 2009 SWAPO Party Election Manifesto compels us as custodians of the 2/3 majority electoral mandate received from the Namibian people, to empower our people, without fail. Hence we should not patronize our electorate by being apologetic and amenable to the views of hollow minority parties which were comprehensively defeated at the ballot box in November 2009. We should also not, directly or indirectly, be perceived as spokespersons of the same opposition parties. The people have spoken in November 2009; therefore our SWAPO Party must govern in the interest of our people especially the majority who voted for the SWAPO Party.

The SWAPO Party Youth League wishes to take this opportunity to congratulate all those who will be inaugurated as Members of Parliament on the SWAPO Party ticket and those who will subsequently serve in the executive. We wish to congratulate you comrades and wish to pledge to them our constant unabated support, for as long as they serve the aspirations of the people as espoused in the SWAPO Party Manifesto of 2009 and humble themselves before the people and the SWAPO Party, we shall equally support those MPs. This new mandate for some is again an opportunity to prove yourselves to the electorate, for others it is a new opportunity to prove their mettle as servants of the people.

All however, must realize that it is unforgivable to betray the interest of the broad masses of our people. As H.E. Cde Hifikepunye Pohamba stated recently, MPs must serve the SWAPO Party interest on whose ticket they are in parliament. Our MPs must work for all Namibians, regardless of race, tribe, gender or other social persuasions. If our MPs remember the above they can be rest assured of our support. However, failing the above, do not expect us not to be a thorn in your flesh.

Finally, we applaud our SWAPO Party Government for constantly striving to empower our people especially the youth as well as the rural and urban poor.

LONG LIVE SWAPO PARTY; LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA; ONE NAMIBIA ONE NATION!