The final push

THE uphill battle facing the Congress of Democrats in a Swapo stronghold such as the Kavango Region was apparent when the opposition party held a last meeting before the elections at Rundu on Saturday.

When President Sam Nujoma visited the town last month, people flocked in their hundreds to hear him speak. In contrast, about 200 CoD supporters gathered on Saturday to hear CoD figures such as Member of Parliament Ignatius Shixwameni address them.A shared theme of speeches given at Saturday’s meeting echoed complaints that the people in the Kavango Region were being left out in the cold when it came to economic development, jobs and appointments in key areas of Government and the civil service.Referring to what he said had been an election promise from Swapo in 1999 – that the party was going to create 50 000 new jobs over the following five years – Shixwameni asked: “How many of you benefited from those 50 000 jobs that were supposed to be created?” From the reaction, it seemed no-one had.In contrast, about 200 CoD supporters gathered on Saturday to hear CoD figures such as Member of Parliament Ignatius Shixwameni address them.A shared theme of speeches given at Saturday’s meeting echoed complaints that the people in the Kavango Region were being left out in the cold when it came to economic development, jobs and appointments in key areas of Government and the civil service.Referring to what he said had been an election promise from Swapo in 1999 – that the party was going to create 50 000 new jobs over the following five years – Shixwameni asked: “How many of you benefited from those 50 000 jobs that were supposed to be created?” From the reaction, it seemed no-one had.