RDP has 250 000 members: Hidipo

THE 17-month-old political party Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) has grown to 250 000 members, its president, Hidipo Hamutenya, said on Saturday at a party rally in Katutura.

‘I can announce today that RDP now has 250 000 card-carrying members, which is a great success for our party, which is just 17 months old,’ Hamutenya told an enthusiastic crowd of about 500 people at the UN Plaza in Katutura on Saturday afternoon.’We are determined to increase membership even more in the coming months,’ he added.A novel practice in the political landscape of Namibia occurred at the rally, when the crowds were allowed to ask questions about the RDP election manifesto for the upcoming national elections. The manifesto was distributed at the rally.’We have completed our election manifesto and we are the first party doing so. Another party, which is in existence for many decades, has not managed to do so,’ Hamutenya took a swipe at the ruling Swapo party. ‘People are longing for change and change will come through RDP,’ he told the crowd.The RDP leader, who was introduced by rally co-organiser Brunhilde Cornelius as ‘the future president of Namibia’, said that the Swapo Party Government has failed to address unemployment in Namibia and also failed to provide a meaningful education system to produce a trained and skilled nation. ‘Leaders of the ruling party only talk and talk at rallies, but their recently published review of so-called achievements of the Swapo-led Government since 2004 is shamefully shy of explaining its actual inability to meet people’s training, education and employment needs,’ the RDP president lashed out.RDP secretary general Jesaya Nyamu then responded to questions from the crowd on the RDP manifesto’s promise of free education until Grade 12 and it’s policy Chinese companies active in Namibia.’We mean it when we say that an RDP government will introduce pre-primary education and free education until the end of secondary school level,’ Nyamu said.On the question of Chinese people in Namibia, Nyamu said they were part of the world’s population and could not be wished away. ‘Namibia cannot pass laws to ban Chinese nationals from entering the country, but the situation can be dealt with by forming joint ventures with them and making Namibians shareholders of Chinese companies inside our country,’ Nyamu explained.Asked what the RDP would do to curb the 40 per cent unemployment rate, Nyamu referred to the good education his party would introduce, once in power, without giving details. ‘I must say that Namibians will in due course have to compete against people from other countries in southern Africa, because the Swapo-led government has signed agreements as within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which will make the whole region one large economic area. ‘Nationals from the 14 member states will in future be able to apply for jobs in all these countries and Namibians will have to compete for jobs in our country against Zambians, Congolese or people from Botswana for example,’ Nyamu warned.’There is no running away from that future situation, Government has signed this off.’A strong Police contingent was present throughout the rally and all people entering the premises were searched. Contrary to other RDP rallies in Katutura in 2008, there were no incidents of violence or intimidation on Saturday.