The Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) has vowed to nationalise the mining and oil industries, if they are elected into power.

This is part of the party’s vision for true freedom and prosperity for all Namibians, said its president Epafras Mukwiilongo on Saturday.

The opposition party launched its election manifesto in Windhoek in preparation for the Presidential and National Assembly elections, set for 27 November 2024.

Mukwiilongo said the profits from mining will be reinvested into providing quality education, housing, sanitation, healthcare and infrastructure development.

“The NEFF promises to reclaim our economy by nationalising key industries like the mines and oil sectors. These resources belong to all Namibians, not just a few.

Profits from these industries will go to education, healthcare, housing, and essential services. This manifesto promises to redistribute land fairly so every Namibian can have access to land.

“We will abolish foreign land ownership, and support local farmers with tools to grow food as well as markets. Our focus is to create jobs and increase wages, with a goal of full employment by 2030,” he said.

Under the NEFF government, labour brokerage will be abolished to safeguard the rights of workers. “We will abolish labour brokers, and ensure equal pay for equal work,” Mukwiilongo said. The party further pledged to promote sustainable industrial development and diversification to create thousands of decent jobs from 2025 to 2029.

The NEFF manifesto was launched under the theme ‘Radical Economic Freedom In Our Lifetime’.

Mukwiilongo emphasised that the theme “is a call to all Namibians to come out and fight for their birthright, which is the land and all that is in it, the oceans, and the resources inside it”.

NEFF currently has two seats in the National Assembly, and has selected Mukwiilongo as its presidential candidate.

-Nampa