Swapo promises plots for flags, says RDP

THE ruling Swapo Party was telling people in townships to put the party flag on their tin shacks and in return, they would allegedly receive plots as a reward, a member of the RDP political party said in Katutura on Saturday.

Speaking to a crowd of 400 people, who were all searched by Police after four firearms were found a week ago among Swapo supporters who prevented the RDP from holding a rally, Erasmus ‘Kaptein’ Hendjala accused Swapo of spreading lies. “They tell people to hoist the Swapo flags in return for plots (to live on),” Hendjala accused the ruling party.”They also tell voters that surveillance cameras would be in the polling booth so they know exactly who votes for which party.This is a lie,” Hendjala stated.Hendjala, who was Swapo’s Regional Councillor in the Tobias Hainyeko constituency for over ten years, was kicked out of Swapo three months ago for allegedly having links to RDP, which he denied.Barely two weeks after his expulsion he joined RDP.The vacancy in the Khomas Regional Council that arose from his expulsion from Swapo made the by-election necessary.Hendjala is now contesting his former position as Regional Councillor for RDP.Hendjala on Saturday said that Swapo was also saying State pension payments would stop if people voted for opposition parties.”Don’t believe that, it is not Swapo money which is used to pay State pensions, it is taxpayers’ money.”The RDP interim Secretary General Jesaya Nyamu said Swapo would not rule forever and examples of that fact were Zambia and also Zimbabwe, where the MDC opposition party won the parliamentary elections this year and President Robert Mugabe was forced into a power-sharing agreement with the opposition.”The recent split in South Africa’s ruling ANC party where a breakaway faction will start a new party is another example of this,” Nyamu said.The old party list system for national elections in Namibia was bad, Nyamu added.”Once RDP is in power, we will change that so that Parliamentarians are elected directly by the people and are thus more accountable than [under] the party list system.””They tell people to hoist the Swapo flags in return for plots (to live on),” Hendjala accused the ruling party.”They also tell voters that surveillance cameras would be in the polling booth so they know exactly who votes for which party.This is a lie,” Hendjala stated.Hendjala, who was Swapo’s Regional Councillor in the Tobias Hainyeko constituency for over ten years, was kicked out of Swapo three months ago for allegedly having links to RDP, which he denied.Barely two weeks after his expulsion he joined RDP.The vacancy in the Khomas Regional Council that arose from his expulsion from Swapo made the by-election necessary.Hendjala is now contesting his former position as Regional Councillor for RDP.Hendjala on Saturday said that Swapo was also saying State pension payments would stop if people voted for opposition parties.”Don’t believe that, it is not Swapo money which is used to pay State pensions, it is taxpayers’ money.”The RDP interim Secretary General Jesaya Nyamu said Swapo would not rule forever and examples of that fact were Zambia and also Zimbabwe, where the MDC opposition party won the parliamentary elections this year and President Robert Mugabe was forced into a power-sharing agreement with the opposition.”The recent split in South Africa’s ruling ANC party where a breakaway faction will start a new party is another example of this,” Nyamu said.The old party list system for national elections in Namibia was bad, Nyamu added.”Once RDP is in power, we will change that so that Parliamentarians are elected directly by the people and are thus more accountable than [under] the party list system.”