By Michael Liswaniso
OPUWO
Ruling Swapo Party members and sympathizers held a celebration on Saturday at Opuwo to mark the 48th anniversary of the party that spearheaded Namibia’s independence.
Hundreds of residents marched through the streets to the Swapo Party’s regional office under the leadership of the regional coordinator, Uahekua Herunga.
Addressing the gathering Opuwo’s founding mayor, Rex Sheehama, who is now the Swapo district coordinator, briefed residents about the historical background of Swapo.
He said Swapo was formed to unite the people and to fight the apartheid regime.
“The only language South Africa could understand was the bullet that is why Swapo was formed,” he said.
Sheehama said that Namibia is today called the Land of the Brave because, “We never surrendered despite the inferior weapons we acquired from our forefathers.”
According to him, the Swapo-led Government has achieved much on the economic front.
He said for people to drive from Opuwo to Windhoek on a tarred road with only 40 kilometers remaining before the Omakange-Kamanjab road is a major achievement.
The former mayor also said most villages are now fully electrified.
“Many residents today are milking their cows at night because of rural electrification which was not the case before,” he added.
He called on residents to stick with Swapo Party because it has brought peace and development in the country, and urged people to vote for Swapo Party saying the Kunene region is in the hands of opposition parties.
“There is a new party called Radopa and this party thought Namibians can believe everything. They are even telling us that they will be able to provide cooking oil from the water taps. Will it be possible? Anyway do not disturb them, let them do their things but they are likely to go to a political dustbin.
And please they must stop calling us names,” said Sheehama.
Sheehama repeatedly urged the youth to follow what he called the right roots.
He touched on the current economic crisis, saying it is not only Namibia that is affected but the entire universe. Most speakers also echoed Sheehama’s sentiments.
The meeting was graced by the Deputy Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Angelika Muharukua, who is also a member of Swapo Party’s Central Committee.
Muharukua who delivered the national party’s keynote speech, diverted from it and bemoaned the lack of electricity in the Katutura informal settlement.
She said the informal settlement is a Swapo Party stronghold in the district but yet it has no electricity.
She requested the Opuwo Town Council’s chief executive officer, Alphons Tjitombo, also in attendance to look into the matter seriously.
Also in attendance was the senior Mbanderu traditional councillor, Salomon Hartley.
Before the meeting started, a moment of silence was observed to pay homage to all the fallen heroes and heroines.