Political parties challenged to provide tangible solutions in manifestos

Political analyst Rui Tyitende has called on politicians to clarify how they will address the country’s main challenges in their party manifestos.

Tyitende was speaking at a public dialogue on the ‘Political Economy from the Social Protection Perspective’ in Windhoek on Wednesday.

The event was organised by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Forum for Experts on Social Protection, and focused on what citizens should expect in the election manifestos of political parties in an election year.

“I want political parties to fully address real issues in their manifestos, not vague promises like ‘shared prosperity’ or ‘youth empowerment’. We need clear plans, especially for agricultural investment,” said Tyitende.

Tyitende noted that there is a lack of investment in Namibia’s agriculture sector.

“One key issue we must address to tackle poverty is the ongoing disinvestment in agriculture. Serious efforts are needed to reverse this trend if we are to make meaningful progress,” he said.

Tyitende highlighted that government budgets focus more on drought than food production.

He further called on Namibians not to merely look at the identity of those vying for positions, or where the person comes from, but rather focus on their ideas, policies or interests.

“If it wasn’t for the political parties there would be no manifestos, because they know for a fact that even if there was no development blueprint of how they want to take the country forward, people would still vote,” he said.