Party manifestos: The economy

ELECTIONS are due next week and it’s time to look at the diverse promises political parties make to see how realistic they are and if the projects and plans they want to implement can be financed at all. Most parties remain vague on this.

APPThe All Peoples’ Party will require foreign companies tendering for all Government contracts to have at least a minimum of 45 per cent Namibian broad-based partnership whilst compelling local companies to have at least 50 per cent shareholding for verifiable marginalised, poor communities and workers’ trusts. The party plans to unbundle some profit-generating state-owned enterprises with a view to allowing limited participation by identified poor communities, employees and private individual entrepreneurs with the State still maintaining majority shareholding in these enterprises and at the same time guaranteeing job security for current employees. APP will review all mining and fishing licences, rights and concessions that have been allocated since Independence and introduce real ownership structures with a view to rectifying any abnormalities in the licensing and allocation process and to enable real broad-based participation by all formally disadvantaged communities and persons. CoDThis party has concentrated its election manifesto on social issues and agriculture, which have been dealt with in previous articles on election promises. CoD is vague on the economic and business sector. It says once in power it would restructure ‘in the long term, our economy to redress colonial expropriation and exploitation of our citizens through measures such as Black Economic Empowerment (BEE).’ CP The Communist Party wants to change the economy from ‘monopolistic capitalism’ to ‘communist central planning under a socialistic perspective’. This would free the economic sector from ‘reactionary monopolism towards free competition,’ says CP presidential candidate Attie Beukes in the party manifesto. Under a CP government all natural resources ‘will no longer be held in the hand of private persons, ‘ but placed under a collective, common ownership. This will apply to mining, agriculture and fisheries.DPNSalomon David Isaaks, leader of the DPN, says the party will restructure the fisheries sector to reach increased equity for ordinary Namibians at grassroots level. Jobs in the sector will reflect the diverse language groups in the country and will not remain dominated by one language group. The DPN wants to set up a transparent body like a fisheries board to oversee and manage the allocation of fishing quotas. The party propagates free enterprise and private ownership in a localised economy with increased Namibian participation. ‘Namibians must spearhead and drive our own economy and not foreign players,’ says Isaaks. A DPN government will have chambers of industries ‘depoliticised and detribalised’ so it will engage in stimulating the domestic economy countrywide to reach more Namibians to partake in the economy.DTAInefficient parastatals will be privatised under a DTA government to stop the drainage of State coffers, the party says in its manifesto. No public money will be spent on ‘grandiose building projects’ and the building industry would employ mostly Namibian workers and not foreigners.Economic projects the DTA would kick-start would be a sustainable timber industry in northeastern Namibia, a leather industry in the South, set up a polyurethane industry and start an aeroplane ‘scrap yard’ near Keetmanshoop by buying defunct aircraft and dismantle them and selling the intact spare parts regionally and internationally. NUDOThe party will new introduce new laws to encourage greater local processing of mineral and marine resources, which will create more jobs. Nudo will see to it that more transfer of technology and skills takes place from developed countries to Namibia in order to stimulate the economy. A Nudo government will decentralise most central governing functions to the 13 regions which would also include tendering and procurement so that local business in the regions can win tenders and sell goods and implements needed by the State. ‘Our party would make the existing labour laws more flexible to make it easier for SMEs to employ people to grow their enterprises and in this way reduce unemployment,’ the manifesto says. Start-up venture capital for young people and especially women will be provided so they can start their own small businesses.Nudo wants to increase local value addition with incentives for local manufacturing of leather goods with hides obtained from Namibia’s highly active agricultural sector, meat processing for export and also in the fishing and aquaculture industry. RDPThe party wants to provide a ‘visionary industrial policy with clear targets’, establish growth points in all 13 regions and promote industrial research. RDP will provide sound policies to attract industrial investment. Like most other political parties RDP wants to support SMEs, increase local value addition and manufacturing. SWANUThe party says it will create opportunities at lower levels for those who did not pass their Grade 12 to gain hands-on skills experience at vocational and technical level. Efforts would also be made to engage in value addition and manufacturing ventures to increase employment. ‘Efforts will be made to engage in agricultural, mining, marine and industrial and technological projects,’ is all Swanu says about economic incentives. SWAPOThe ruling party promises to ‘ensure that investments are made’ in mining, fisheries, manufacturing, mining, tourism, transport and energy development’ without giving details. Swapo will also invest more in ‘construction and the development of other critical economic infrastructure’ the party manifesto says vaguely. Most of the local construction sector is in the meantime dominated by Chinese outfits. Over the next five years Swapo wants to grow the SME sector, it wants to see more joint ventures between previously advantaged and disadvantaged Namibians and to ‘realise full black economic empowerment(BEE).’ However the Government BEE policy has been drawn up, but not yet implemented. In the mining sector Swapo will ensure that future ventures will be carried out through partnerships between Government and previously disadvantaged Namibians. Local value addition to natural resources before exports will be emphasised. It will review the current EPZ regime to increase its effectiveness and ensure greater regional competitiveness of Namibia.UDFWorkers should own shares in companies they work for, the UDF under Justus Garoëb says, and companies and the Public Service will have to provide more training to workers and employees. Large companies, especially in the mining sector should set aside a percentage of their profits for skills development and economic upliftment in the remote areas where they mine natural resources. A UDF government would provide tax incentives for such firms. The Republican Party (RP) and MAG do not have manifestos for next week’s elections.