Ngurare the front-runner for Swapo youth position

ELIJAH Ngurare has emerged as the sole candidate for the Swapo Youth League’s secretary position with barely a month left before the fourth congress of the party’s youth wing.

Ngurare’s (36) name was the only one forwarded for the position. The post is up for grabs following the departure of Paulus Kapia because of the Avid-SSC scandal almost two years ago.Ngurare is basically guaranteed of leading the youth wing for the next five years.Ngurare rose to prominence as the youth league’s spokesperson following the 2002 congress and is a close associate of Kapia.Following the past weekend’s Swapo Youth League Central Committee meeting, secretary for economic affairs John Walenga said the position of deputy secretary would be contested by incumbent Eveline !Nowases-Kayele, Jutta Shikomba and Veikko Nekundi.”The Central Committee also decided that there will be no nominations to be received on the floor of the congress,” Walenga said.The congress will take place between August 16 and 20 in Windhoek and will also elect the youth league’s delegation to the Swapo congress in November as well as a new Central Committee.Although the age of youth league members must be between 18 and 35, it can elect a 44-year-old as its secretary.Walenga said only Ngurare had indicated interest in the secretary position.The same goes for !Nowases-Kayele for the deputy secretary position.However, when their names were forwarded to the structures, the names of Shikomba and Nekundi were put in the hat by the structures.Walenga was not at liberty to say which structures decided to challenge !Nowases-Kayele, who is currently the acting secretary.He said the Central Committee meeting took note of progress made in the restructuring of the Youth League’s regional structures with 12 new regional secretaries attending last weekend’s meeting for the first time.Only Hardap retained its old regional secretary.He said they had expressed concern about the lack of development at village councils and called on Government to build capacity and create incentives for local and foreign investors in the rural areas.The Youth League also called on Government to structure tender procedures in such a way that they benefit rural communities.The post is up for grabs following the departure of Paulus Kapia because of the Avid-SSC scandal almost two years ago.Ngurare is basically guaranteed of leading the youth wing for the next five years.Ngurare rose to prominence as the youth league’s spokesperson following the 2002 congress and is a close associate of Kapia.Following the past weekend’s Swapo Youth League Central Committee meeting, secretary for economic affairs John Walenga said the position of deputy secretary would be contested by incumbent Eveline !Nowases-Kayele, Jutta Shikomba and Veikko Nekundi.”The Central Committee also decided that there will be no nominations to be received on the floor of the congress,” Walenga said.The congress will take place between August 16 and 20 in Windhoek and will also elect the youth league’s delegation to the Swapo congress in November as well as a new Central Committee.Although the age of youth league members must be between 18 and 35, it can elect a 44-year-old as its secretary.Walenga said only Ngurare had indicated interest in the secretary position.The same goes for !Nowases-Kayele for the deputy secretary position.However, when their names were forwarded to the structures, the names of Shikomba and Nekundi were put in the hat by the structures.Walenga was not at liberty to say which structures decided to challenge !Nowases-Kayele, who is currently the acting secretary.He said the Central Committee meeting took note of progress made in the restructuring of the Youth League’s regional structures with 12 new regional secretaries attending last weekend’s meeting for the first time.Only Hardap retained its old regional secretary.He said they had expressed concern about the lack of development at village councils and called on Government to build capacity and create incentives for local and foreign investors in the rural areas.The Youth League also called on Government to structure tender procedures in such a way that they benefit rural communities.