Statement by Elijah Ngurare, prime minister of the Republic of Namibia, at the Lusata Annual Cultural Festival, Chinchimane, Zambezi region, 28 September 2025
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It is with humility and great honour that I stand before this distinguished gathering as we join Litunga George Simasiku Mamili VII and the Mafwe community in celebrating this year’s Lusata Cultural Festival at Chinchimane.
On behalf of our president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who is attending the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, I bring warm greetings to all traditional authorities here present. She urges you to continue leading with unity, as you have done so admirably, for it is this unity that strengthens our nation.
Your solidarity during this year’s cultural festivals – at Bukalo, Sangwali, Choi, and now here at Chinchimane – has left an indelible mark. It demonstrates the power of cultural pride and traditional leadership to unite our people. Future generations will look back and give thanks for leaders who safeguarded values, preserved customs, and ensured communities held together in times of challenge.
I commend Litunga George Simasiku Mamili VII for extending invitations to fellow traditional authorities from across Namibia, Zambia, and Botswana. This is leadership of the highest calibre. When leaders stand united, their subjects will have no reason for division, but every reason to embrace their differences as a source of strength and inspiration for collective progress.
Yesterday, in conversation with his royal highness, he reminded me of the Zambezi region’s vast agricultural potential– its ability to be a breadbasket. Yet access to markets, agricultural implements, and water remain challenges. I therefore assure the Litunga and all traditional leaders that the government is committed to addressing these needs. We will continue drilling boreholes for communities, schools, and clinics; expand mini-desalination plants where water is brackish; and strengthen food production. Access to clean water and dignified sanitation is not a privilege – it is a human right.
Our Sixth National Development Plan, under the leadership of president Nandi-Ndaitwah, is driven by the principle of ‘Unity in Diversity: Natural Resources Beneficiation and Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development’. This plan ensures that no Namibian is left behind. We must move from exporting raw materials to processing them locally, creating industries, jobs, and prosperity. Just as we advanced diamond cutting through Namibia Diamond Trading Company, so too must we establish factories for copper, lithium, uranium, and other resources.
Already, steps are being taken. In Zambezi, plans for a mango processing plant are underway, in partnership with the University of Namibia. The president has directed that every region establish a factory aligned to its strengths. This is transformative development in action.
At the centre of this transformation are our youth, who made up more than 70% of voters in the 2024 elections. Their voice matters. Tomorrow, in Gobabis, we will launch the National Youth Fund, as promised in the South West Africa People’s Organisation Party Election Manifesto 2025-2030. Our duty is to translate their votes into hope, opportunity, and empowerment.
As we celebrate Lusata, we celebrate more than culture – we celebrate the endurance of heritage, moral values, and traditional wisdom. We cannot detach ourselves from the customs that shaped us; instead, we must preserve them for generations to come. Lusata embodies this continuity, balancing cultural pride with modern development, including tourism that benefits, rather than displaces, communities.
We must also remember the bold political decision taken by Litunga Simasiku Mamili IV in the early 1960s, when he joined forces with Brendan Simbwaye and the Caprivi African National Union, which later merged with the South West Africa People’s Organisation, to fight for Namibia’s liberation. He and his people paid dearly – through imprisonment, persecution, and the cruel deaths of heroes such as Lyaboloma, Mukwali, Kulibabika, and Masida. Their blood waters our freedom, and their sacrifices must never be forgotten or betrayed, especially by the youth of Mushobo wa Mafwe.
Unity does not mean the absence of differences, but rather the presence of tolerance and harmony. That is the essence of leadership. Today, under the guidance of Litunga George Simasiku Mamili VII, the Mafwe people remind us that unity remains the key to peace, prosperity, and nation-building.
Let us therefore celebrate Lusata with pride, in peace and harmony, ever mindful that our traditions are the roots of our nation and the foundation of our future.
