NAKABOLELWA – The Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Doreen Sioka on Saturday reiterated that the aim of Namibia’s war for liberation was to bring unity and econimic development.
She made these remarks at a Swapo Party rally held at Nakabolelwa, one of the remotest areas in the eastern floodplains of the Zambezi Region.
Sioka said the Swapo-led government has brought a lot of development and has given people the liberty to voice their concerns without fear.
“We are here to seek your votes so that we bring you more development. When I was here in 2009 campaigning, there was no road or electricity but now we have all that here. In Swapo if we are not delivering, you as the people who have chosen us have the right to ask us why not,” stated Sioka.
She further mentioned the construction of a magistrate’s court and a police station at Ngoma area, and just a few kilometres away, the Ngoma bridge linking Namibia with Botswana and the Katima/Sesheke bridge connecting Namibia to Zambia as some of the major development projects that the Swapo-led government has brought to the area and the region at large.
Sioka made a scathing attack on the opposition noting they often mislead people in order to garner their votes only to disappear until after the next elections. “These people come here to lie to you just for them to go to parliament and start feeding themselves and their families. Tell me have you seen any person from the opposition coming here to give you even a packet of seeds for you to start a gardening project? They just come here to get votes then they disappear.”
Sioka also condemned a group known as “Caprivi Concerned Group” that has called on potential voters to boycott elections in the region.
“On 28th November go and vote. Don’t be cheated by this group, it is bringing division in the region. These people are coming through our indunas; I urge indunas to reject them. Swapo remains committed to unite people in the region. Today this group says it is concerned, tomorrow you will hear they are a political party. This is how they always start. Don’t be cheated,” warned Sioka.
According to Sioka who spent considerable time denouncing the little known group, the group is made up of disgruntled youth who aree only after money and power-hungry.
“All they are after is money and positions. Where were they when we were fighting the war of liberation? Refuse to be called a Caprivian. We are Namibians and our region is Zambezi. The parents of these youths are even ashamed of them. Young people going around telling old people not to vote. Their parents were witnesses to the war of liberation. They have no respect,” she stated.
Sioka urged women to go in big numbers to cast their votes to support Swapo Party’s 50/50 gender representation policy.
“Don’t miss this opportunity, go out and vote in large numbers. The Swapo Party has introduced the 50/50 policy. In Swapo we are equal,” she stated.
She took a swipe at opposition parties for failing to recognise equal representation of women.
“The first party to amend its constitution in order to allow euql gender representation is Swapo. All parties failed apart from the APP that only responded positively to the call. CoD, RDP, NUDO, SWANU all failed. Are these parties saying women are not important? They want to deny us our right? Swapo is the only party that sees women as equally important,” stressed the labour minister.
Sioka also appealed to the youth to remain steadfast and fulfil the aspirations of fallen liberation heroes. “The youth should not give away our country as future leaders. We all know the history of heroes such as Paddy Mwazi, Masida, Tobias Hainyeko, Borniface Likando and Greenwell Matongo. The spirit of our forefathers should be with us all the time. Let’s not be misled,” urged Sioka.
Kabbe Constituency under which the area falls is said to have more than 3 000 registered voters.