. . . Party to decide on congress going ahead
The government is set to implement the Swapo Party of Namibia's manifesto, which will cost N$85.7 billion, following a retreat which is currently underway.
This was approved by the Cabinet two days ago.
The four-day retreat started yesterday, and comes after the government directed that all state events of a "commemorative or celebratory nature" should be suspended until the mourning period for founding president Sam Nujoma ends.
"Cabinet approved the incorporation of the Swapo Party manifesto into the government plan for implementation from 1 April 2025," an official statement reads.
Cabinet decisions were announced by deputy minister of information and communication technology Modestus Amutse at the government information centre yesterday.
Executive director of information and communication technology Audrin Mathe confirmed the retreat yesterday.
"I confirm that the retreat is underway. The approved protocols allow for low-key meetings that are not of a celebratory nature," he said.
Mathe did not say what the purpose of the retreat was, and referred The Namibian to a leaked programme of the retreat.
The programme shows that the allocation for the manifesto implementation stands at N$85.7 billion.
"Budget overview - N$85.7 billion allocation," the programme reads.
The ruling party promised to allocate N$85.7 billion over five years to facilitate the creation of 256 000 jobs.
This comes as Swapo will have a central committee meeting over the weekend to consider whether the party's extraordinary congress should continue on 28 February.
Swapo deputy secretary general Uahekua Herunga confirmed this to The Namibian yesterday.
At the congress, the party will decide on the position of party vice president, which is allegedly not being contested.
This position is currently held by president-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who is set to be endorsed as Swapo president at the extraordinary congress.
'WHERE'S THE MONEY FROM?'
Political analyst Rui Tyitende says it is good that the government is determined to implement the promises made by Nandi-Ndaitwah, but asked where the budget for this would come from.
"So, where will the additional funding emanate from? Will it come from the savings of Swapo, or will it be from a loan from China or Elon Musk?
"N$85.7 billion is a significant amount, even if spread over five years. More importantly, what will be the ratio between the development and operational budget be for this figure?" he asked.
Namibia's last national budget stood at N$100.1 billion, the highest it has ever been.
The development budget for the 2024/25 financial year is estimated to be around 11% of the total national budget.
PROGRAMME SNAPSHOT
According to the retreat programme, the manifesto is to be presented by deputy executive director of finance and public enterprises Louise Shixwameni.
She is set to explain the "strategic goals and key areas, assumptions behind the plan, critical success factors and key economic enablers".
Officials were briefed on the manifesto by chairperson of the Swapo think tank Andrew Niikondo.
According to the leaked programme, there are nine priority areas, namely agriculture, quality education and training, youth empowerment and creative industry, quality health and social welfare, land, housing and sanitation, critical economic enablers, as well as tourism development and the water sector.
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Other areas are transport and logistics, as well as legal reforms and instruments.
A monitoring and evaluation framework for the manifesto's progress will also be presented.
Yesterday's session included the secretary to the Cabinet George Simataa, Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa, and National Planning Commission executive director Michael Humavindu.
It was preceded by "The anatomy of a priority-driven budget by Titus Ndove, executive director of the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises".
Swapo's manifesto includes lofty promises of building 10 000 houses annually, creating 256 000 jobs, and the construction of a desalination plant at a cost of N$3.5 billion.
The party further plans to upgrade and renovate schools.
