THE Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) secretary for the Khomas Region, Jeremia Nambinga, told a packed crowd at Edundja on Saturday that RDP was not against the construction of the new State House, as every sovereign state needed a presentable state house for its presidents and visiting dignitaries.
Nambinga was officiating at the opening of a RDP branch office at Edundja in the Oshikango Constituency of the Ohangwena Region. “Our RDP President too, because we will beat Swapo in elections one of the days, and our President will also be in there [in State House],” he said.However, he said the cost of a presidential residence should be commensurate with the economy of that country.”Namibia’s economic base is small and if our priorities were in order, there is no way that we could have ended up with such an expensive State House,” he continued.Nambinga also took issue with the conflicting reports from different ministers about the costs of the State House project.”Some said the cost is N$300 million, while some said N$600 million.The reason for these conflicting reports is clear.Corruption is involved hence the attempt to cover the real costs.”As this is going on, we have schools without textbooks, our hospitals have literally collapsed with no medication, not to mention the lack of job creation,” Nambinga lashed out.The former Swapo leader then accused the ruling party of having developed autocratic leadership tendencies.”I have been a member of the Swapo Central Committee, and have tried to mention some of these bad practices, but I was told to shut up and to keep quiet about my good ideas and advice and to follow the ideas I thought were wrong,” Nambinga told a cheering crowd.He described the decision to break with Swapo as brave.”I must tell you fellow compatriots, both as a party and a government, some of us realised that the party [Swapo] had lost its direction and vision, purpose, and had become side-tracked from its original goals and objectives that were formed when we became independent,” Nambinga said.He further said that the founding fathers of the RDP had realised that negative tendencies that had developed in Swapo could not be solved from within.”It is a against this background that, because we failed to rectify the situation, we then decided to quit and to form a party which in our opinion will be able to guide, to direct and to rescue the Namibian nation from collapse.”He charged that Swapo had no interest in the welfare of the Namibian people anymore.”It has become a party of self-enrichment, a party of dividing Namibian people, and indeed a party which has failed to unite Namibia as a country,” Nambinga said.”Our RDP President too, because we will beat Swapo in elections one of the days, and our President will also be in there [in State House],” he said.However, he said the cost of a presidential residence should be commensurate with the economy of that country.”Namibia’s economic base is small and if our priorities were in order, there is no way that we could have ended up with such an expensive State House,” he continued.Nambinga also took issue with the conflicting reports from different ministers about the costs of the State House project.”Some said the cost is N$300 million, while some said N$600 million.The reason for these conflicting reports is clear.Corruption is involved hence the attempt to cover the real costs.”As this is going on, we have schools without textbooks, our hospitals have literally collapsed with no medication, not to mention the lack of job creation,” Nambinga lashed out.The former Swapo leader then accused the ruling party of having developed autocratic leadership tendencies.”I have been a member of the Swapo Central Committee, and have tried to mention some of these bad practices, but I was told to shut up and to keep quiet about my good ideas and advice and to follow the ideas I thought were wrong,” Nambinga told a cheering crowd.He described the decision to break with Swapo as brave.”I must tell you fellow compatriots, both as a party and a government, some of us realised that the party [Swapo] had lost its direction and vision, purpose, and had become side-tracked from its original goals and objectives that were formed when we became independent,” Nambinga said.He further said that the founding fathers of the RDP had realised that negative tendencies that had developed in Swapo could not be solved from within.”It is a against this background that, because we failed to rectify the situation, we then decided to quit and to form a party which in our opinion will be able to guide, to direct and to rescue the Namibian nation from collapse.”He charged that Swapo had no interest in the welfare of the Namibian people anymore.”It has become a party of self-enrichment, a party of dividing Namibian people, and indeed a party which has failed to unite Namibia as a country,” Nambinga said.
