Otjinene — The turnout at the party's manifesto launch on Saturday and the united front within the party's rank and file should be a clear demonstration that Nudo will never be hijacked by outside forces, despite numerous attempts.
This was the emphatic message from party secretary general Josef Kauandenge at Otjinene on Saturday, where they launched their 24-page manifesto, which aims to
tackle various socio-economic issues, and uplift the living standards of all Namibians.
While unpacking various key points to hundreds of party supporters at the sports field, he went off to warn 'outside forces' that their plans to hijack and destabilise the party will never succeed.
"They have tried, and they continue to try, but their plans to hijack Nudo will never succeed.
They went to the electoral commission; they went to the banks and all other places to try and take over the party by force, but we stopped them.
And I know that they will not stop with their attempts to take over by force. But let me send a strong warning to them by saying Nudo has structures, a constitution, and rules that govern it. We are here to protect this party. It will not be hijacked by desperate, outside forces," he assured the crowd, which received his message with raucous cheers.
He said Saturday's attendance has put to rest any questions and ambiguity around the party's authentic leadership. "You [supporters] have put some people to shame with your attendance here today. People are shocked by this huge number because they thought they would destroy Nudo and cause disunity. But not everyone can be fooled. People are aware of what is going on, and today they have proven that Nudo is stronger and more united than ever. Today, you, the supporters, have sent a strong message that Nudo cannot be hijacked. This is a historical party that comes a long way. Our late paramount chiefs Hosea Kutako and Kuaima Riruako would not have allowed this, and we will never allow it to happen," he added.
Conflict
The last few months have seen the party's last democratically-elected Utjiua Muinjangue-led leadership at loggerheads with members of a breakaway group, which elected former football administrator Barry Rukoro as the party's new president at a disputed congress.
The two parties have since taken each other to court, where the Muinjangue-led leadership is asking the court to restrain Rukoro and his faction from claiming to be de facto party leaders, and to prevent them from disseminating correspondence on fake party letterheads.
They are also asking the court to grant them an order to eject Rukoro's faction from the party's rental premises situated in the heart of Katutura along Clemence Kapuuo Street, and for them to immediately stop interfering with the operations of the party. Rukoro's splinter group is likewise being accused of breaching the party's constitution in that they have created disruption and disunity within Nudo's rank and file.
However, Rukoro and his faction have refused to budge, as they have defended the legitimacy of their congress and his ascendancy to the party's top position.
He has also vowed to defend his leadership in court, if need be.
Manifesto
Bringing closure to the genocide issue, accelerating rural development, reforming the agricultural sector and making land distribution more equitable to all Namibians are some of the key areas that Nudo will focus on once elected into power.
These promises and many others are contained in the party's ambitious manifesto. The launch was led by party vice president Peter Kazongominja, Kauandenge, Otjinene councillor Erwin Katjizeu, Okakarara councillor Ramana Mutjavikua, former Okakarara councillor and prominent party figure Vetaruhe Kandorozu, as well as Omaruru mayor Vincent Kahuua.
If elected into power at the polls next month, Nudo promises to tackle the protracted genocide negotiations with the speed and dedication it deserves.
"We will advocate for the involvement of all affected communities, and make sure they have a seat at the negotiation table for fair reparation talks with clearly-defined needs and demands. We will stick to the 2006 parliamentary resolution, which agreed for a tripartite process on reparations that include the descendants of victims of the genocide...
"We will also push for a public apology from the German government on the genocide it committed against the Herero and Nama people between 1904 and 1908. We will demand just and concise reparations for the affected communities, including a thorough and long-term reparation agreement that will restore the dignity, culture, cohesion, mental state, material and land of affected communities," the party promised.
Ancestral land
On the issue of ancestral land rights and fair distribution of land, Nudo plans to abolish foreign land ownership, and put all land under the custodianship of the State for equal redistribution to all. It promised to prohibit the selling of farmland either publicly or privately above its productive value. It also wants to set a capped price for land prices in Namibia at the land's agricultural productive value.
"We will establish an ancestral land restitution commission that will ensure a fair and transparent process of ancestral land claims, and include a criterion of communities who lost land due to genocide in the resettlement policy. We will ensure that once farmland is bought by the government, the resettlement process is fast-tracked to prevent vandalism of the farm, and to allow for an efficient and transparent handover with a full support package upon allotment for the farm productivity to resume immediately...
"We will introduce a six-months' induction capacity-building programme for new resettled farmers in farm management, rangeland management, and financial and income diversification to maximise the farm's full production potential. Nudo will monitor and evaluate resettled farmers' performance, based on a five-year production plan, and make provision for further support," reads the manifesto.
Water and agriculture
The party wants to abolish water payment for agricultural use in communal areas to promote food security efforts towards creating drought-resilient communities in rural areas.
Plans to grow the rural economy through agricultural mechanisation and tailor-made support to communal farmers in maximising agricultural productivity were shared by the party during the event.
"We will launch a rural economic development strategy that targets areas with strong water, and support these farmers with a full mechanisation package that will allow them to develop water infrastructure, establish crop and fodder production fields, and become feeder farmers for agricultural advancement in communal areas to grow targeted value chains. We plan to develop fodder hubs in communal areas as a drought-mitigating strategy for farmers, and the provision of readily-available and affordable fodder to farmers...
"Nudo will promote the development of the beef and weaner value chains for retention of weaners and provision of slaughter-ready animals to local export abattoirs, and create partnerships between government, the private sector and development partners to promote further investment in agricultural mechanisation," states the manifesto. The party then shared its plans to build desalination plants, and support current and new green schemes countrywide with financial injections and technical expertise to turn them into productive entities which will produce at least 40% of the country's food. Cutting down on food imports and over-reliance from other countries is another area that Nudo plans to address, as it wants to explore more markets for the country's beef and small stock farmers south and north of the veterinary cordon fence.
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The party furthermore promised to promote sustainable control and utilisation of biomass resources in communal areas.
Sport, youth empowerment
Youth empowerment and creating more
economic opportunities for the country's youth is likewise at the heart of Nudo's manifesto, as the party promised to build appropriate infrastructure such as incubation and content-creation hubs, as well as performing arts' production facilities.
Nudo wants to set up state-of-the-art high-performance centres at various towns across the country to optimise the performance of athletes and invest in modern sports infrastructure, including stadiums, training facilities and recreational centres in urban and rural areas. Once given the mandate to govern, the party wants to establish a youth empowerment and business fund to capacitate young people through training and mentorship, and provide financial, material and equipment support to the youth. "We will create a broad-focused placement or in-service employment programme for qualified youth in the different segments of our economy to gain relevant experience and expertise to maximise their chances for employment opportunities, thus contributing to a reduction of at least 20% of the unemployment rate in the country," the party promised.
