‘Vote Swapo out, 20 years enough’

THE time has come for political change and the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) is a viable alternative to Swapo for voters in the upcoming elections, one of the party’s top leaders said at Otjiwarongo on Saturday.

‘Swapo had its chance, but what did voters receive in return? The country had a good infrastructure when we took over from the apartheid regime and systems were working at Independence in 1990, but we have messed it all up. Look at the dilapidation around us now,’ said Jesaya Nyamu, RDP Secretary General.He was addressing a small, but enthusiastic crowd of about 150 party supporters at a sport stadium in the Orwetoveni township of Otjiwarongo. The meeting was preceded by a motorcade of about 20 vehicles loaded with RDP supporters under discreet Police escort through the main street. There were no incidents of violence or intimidation from other political parties.Two local RDP organisers, Paulus Haipare and Kavemunu Veii, urged RDP members and supporters to exercise their rights to freedom of association and peaceful gatherings. ‘We should not have fear, there are laws in the country and the Police has the duty to protect us,’ Haipare said.According to Veii, there were rumours in Otjiwarongo that if people in Windhoek did not fly the ‘correct flag’ of a certain political party on the roofs of their houses, they would be burnt and killed, but that was not true.’It was never reported in the media or in a Police crime report,’ Veii said. ‘We should not pay attention to such rumours,’ Veii said firmly.Although the advertisement the RDP put in some newspapers to announce the rally at Otjiwarongo promised that the party would outline its future plans, Secretary General Jesaya Nyamu did not divulge these plans.Instead he criticised Government for wasting money on the northern railway project, which he called a ‘white elephant’, saying it was useless unless linked to the Angolan rail network. Nyamu also criticised a planned harbour at the remote Cape Frio along the Skeleton Coast in the Kunene Region.’This harbour will cost billions of Namibia dollars but the capacity of the port of Walvis Bay is only 40 per cent,’ Nyamu said. ‘A new harbour will only be necessary in around 30 or 40 years.’He also attacked Air Namibia, the national airline, which he said should be transformed into a regional airline.