RUNDU – Swapo secretary general Sophia Shanigwa has appealed to members and supporters to defend and campaign intensely for their presidential candidate and party ahead of the elections.
She made these remarks while addressing a packed star rally on Saturday in Rundu.
On the day, Swapo also welcomed around 170 members.
In the mix, some were said to be new members, while others are returnees.
“My brothers and sisters, you have done a great job to come back to your party, the party of your ancestors. Mind you, it was here in Kavango by then that most of the liberation struggle stewards came from this region. Therefore, you have just done a good job to return to the party of your ancestors,’’ she noted.
“You must not move out of your party; you must make sure at your section, branches and districts that you ask your leaders to provide you with the constitution of the party so that going forward, you adhere to the position of the Swapo Party,’’ she continued.
“All of you, please know that we have one task, and our task as Swapo Party is to defend our candidate, comrade Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, come 27 November.
Comrade Nandi-Ndaitwah, you are not only looking at people who came back, but you are looking at the potential, eligible voters, giving a statement that you, being the candidate, they are ready to give you a vote. I’m told some could not come because of transport; these are all voters, and we must appreciate a decision well-taken at the right time, when the VP and party candidate is here to speak sense into all of us,” Shaningwa noted.
On her part, Nandi-Ndaitwah said: “You have not made a wrong choice to join this family. Our common denominator now is to make sure that everything we do is for the service of our people, for us to bring about sustainable development and transformation of our economy in the interest of our people. You are welcome, comrades, and don’t see yourselves as new; you are part and parcel of us.”
“We are here in Kavango East, and we are always happy when we are back in Kavango East, a region that holds a special place in the history of our country, and that of the Swapo Party. It was here where the party found a safe place during the liberation struggle,’’ she stated.
“Therefore, we will continue to remember the heroes and heroines who hailed from this part of our country. We are talking about Marco Hausiku, Rosalia Nghidinua, Tatekuru Sikerete, the Hainguras and many others. Their blood waters our freedom,’’ she reminisced.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, or ‘NNN’ as she is fondly known by her comrades, had a clear message for the crowd. “Comrades, we are here today to complete a special mission… A mission we set in motion in 2022 when we held our second congress. It was at that congress that we started preparing ourselves for the 2024 Presidential and National Assembly elections. It was at that congress that Swapo Party members decided, and showed confidence in myself. I accepted the responsibility with honour and dignity, fully aware that to be a Head of State is not an easy task,” she said.
She continued: “I must assure you that I am ready and committed to work with you to make sure that we fulfil our commitment to the people of Namibia.”
Development
Nandi-Ndaitwah observed during the rally that the past 34 years have been years of hard work, where a strong foundation has been laid.
Over the years, she said, the Swapo-led government focused on infrastructural development, building roads, providing water and electricity, and dealing with the construction of education and health facilities, amongst others.
“As we are here today and as clearly stipulated in our election manifesto, it is for us to continue what we have started.
As Swapo members, we believe, and rightly so, that only when we are united in our diversity will we be able to take Namibia forward. We believe in the utilisation of our natural resources for the benefit of our people. We believe that our youths are the biggest assets that we have to bring about sustainable development,’’ she continued.