KATIMA MULILO – Affirmative Repositioning movement leader Job Amupanda has vowed to remove the veterinary cordon fence immediately, should he assume the highest office in the land.
If elected as president, he will ensure the red line falls immediately so that Namibians are not subjected to what he termed “colonial searches”.
This was Amupanda’s central message in the Zambezi region on Tuesday, where he was canvassing for support ahead of the Presidential and National Assembly elections in November.
The veterinary cordon fence, known as the red line, divides Namibia into two halves.
The fence also prohibits the movement of animal products and certain fruits from the northern regions to the south of Namibia.
This, Amupanda said, should not be the case in an independent Namibia.
He was particularly irked by the fact that products such as sour milk, on which many communities depend for survival, and fruits such as mangoes produced in the Zambezi region, are prohibited from crossing south of the red line.
“You can’t take the milk. For God’s sake, milk is important for calcium for bones to be stronger. It’s back to colonialism, but the milk can cross into other places. We will continue fighting to remove the red line. When I take over as president and when we take over as parliamentarians, it’s a revolutionary responsibility in our lifetime to fight and ensure we remove the red line,” Amupanda said.
He is currently in court fighting to remove the red line.
However, in the future, he said, they might be forced to mobilise the masses to remove it physically.
“What the white man has done through the black government after 34 years, for the Zambezi region, they have a clearing house. They want to make sure you don’t bring the meat; they want to make sure you don’t bring the mangoes to the other side. The first clearing house is done at Kongola, where mangoes are confiscated. If you are from Zambezi, you are subjected to double searches. You are subjected to a first search at Kongola and a second search at Mururani. What kind of nonsense is this after 34 years of independence?” Amupanda wanted to know.
He called on everyone to support the initiative of the removal of the red line.
“When laws become evil, we have no obligation whatsoever to obey such laws. [The late president Hage] Geingob died saying the red line should be removed, and saying people are being discriminated against. [President Nangolo] Mbumba the same thing; Members of Parliament are saying the same thing. I am not ashamed to say it. I once managed to smuggle mangoes from the Zambezi. These mangoes are delicious, but these guys took the mangoes. What do you think they do with it? They eat it up,” he charged.
It is further Amupanda’s view that the Swapo-led government has failed the nation in solving pressing issues, and needs to be replaced with a new administration that will shape the future of Namibia.
“When a striker is not scoring, what do you do? The striker is not passing the ball; the striker is not scoring, but we have kept the same striker for 34 years. We need to start with ordinary people who are on the stand saying replace Swapo. We need to keep these guys out. Jersey Number 10, who is professor Amupanda, must then go in.
“As we speak, I am warming up and stretching wearing Jersey Number 10, preparing to go to State House and take over. We need to go and protect the future of our country. We can’t wait for some 10 or 15 years or some other time while we have this striker who is going to cost us,” Amupanda remarked.
So far, he has taken his gospel to communities in Oshikoto and the two Kavango regions before proceeding to Zambezi.