Eveline de Klerk
WALVIS BAY – Landless People’s Movement (LPM) leader Bernadus Swartbooi has urged supporters to vote for change in this month’s general election, saying Namibians should not vote out of loyalty.
Addressing a campaign meeting in Walvis Bay on Sunday, Swartbooi noted Namibians have suffered too long under Swapo, with high poverty levels and unemployment still prevalent.
“Africans are taking too long to get rid of politicians because they brought independence, so they feel obliged to them. However, when a politician does not deliver, he must be made accountable and action must be taken,” expressed the former deputy minister of land reform.
“Look at Zimbabwe; they waited until Robert Mugabe died to pick up the pieces. The same as Angola: their former president is living large in Portugal after enriching his children, leaving the country in a bad state.” Swartbooi exclaimed that the same people who have failed them should not lead Namibians.
“We stood together against apartheid and gained independence, but the pain and suffering of blacks continue. Some of these old politicians were supposed to go with the first president but they chose to stay. Hence, it is time for Namibians to break the cycle and vote for LPM to bring change,” he persuaded.
“Look at Swapo’s track record, and also look at the opposition party; they come from Swapo. They learned from Swapo how to loot. Let us give a chance to LPM. We must understand that it is not President Hage Geingob’s problem but a Swapo problem. It started with the first president of Swapo and continued to date.” He added that instead of the government looking at policies to change the lives of Namibians, they created self-help schemes to enrich themselves.