ONGENGA – Swapo politburo member Pohamba Shifeta has warned voters against drinking alcohol before they go to the polling station on 27 November, as it may lead them to making mistakes.

“When a person is drunk, he or she may forget to vote for the Swapo Party. Let’s not allow alcohol to confuse us against voting for Swapo,” he said.
He made these remarks during a Swapo rally held at Ongenga in the Ohangwena region on Saturday.
Swapo supporters and sympathisers showed up in large numbers at the rally. They included Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila and Ohangwena governor Sebastian Ndeitunga. Shifeta told the crowd not to listen to opposition parties because they do not tell them the truth.

“Where are they going to get money to provide taps of cooking oil if they also need money?” he asked.
He said only Swapo can keep its promises because it is a party that cares for the people.
He emphasised that opposition parties have failed to maintain peace and order in town councils.

“They are misleading people in the municipalities. Some town councils lack peace because of opposition parties that do not unite people,” he said.
Shifeta, who is also the environment minister, urged voters to think twice before voting for opposition parties, as they cannot lead the country.

“When they failed to lead municipalities, it shows they cannot lead the country,” he said, adding that people should keep their voter’s cards safe, as they might be stolen by relatives who belong to opposition parties.

Also speaking at the rally, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila urged Namibians to turn out en masse on 27 November to vote for Swapo and its presidential candidate, Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

“Our party has adopted election manifestos as platforms through which we make clear the commitments of the party to its members. These commitments constitute the priorities for the party when elected into government,” she said.

The Prime Minister added that Swapo’s manifesto is based on the expressed wishes and aspirations of party members, expressed through resolutions made at different party platforms.

“We have made progress in implementing important government programmes. In education, we have built more infrastructure, strengthened resourcing for our education institutions, and expanded financial assistance to tertiary education students,” the former finance minister said.

She added that under Swapo, the government also upgraded and rolled out health infrastructure and resourced them to ensure quality health-care delivery.

“We have expanded access to housing and sanitation. We have tackled crime, including gender-based violence, and we have reached out to more people with our empowerment programmes, including supporting the previously disadvantaged and youth-owned businesses, and promoting gender equity,” she said. –fhamalwa@nepc.com.na