Windhoek
The official opposition, the DTA of Namibia, will by the end of next month open its new headquarters in Ongwediva, while a rebranding exercise has kicked off in preparation for the 2019 election campaign.
Also, the party will reform its organisational structure in all 121 national constituencies to comprehensively meet modern-day Namibia’s demands and needs. These were the outcomes of the party’s last strategic retreat held at the weekend and announced by the secretary general Manuel Ngaringombe yesterday morning.
The DTA management committee and leaders of its various wings attended the retreat. “Between now and 2018 the DTA will embark on a mass restructuring and mobilisation operation. The object of this operation will be to restructure DTA’s constitutional structures from the ground up,” explained Ngaringombe.
“Our objective is to create at least six branches in each of Namibia’s 121 constituencies by the end of 2018,” said Ngaringombe, adding that this gives the party leadership a strategic target of restructuring and creating 726 branches by the end of the same period. “The creation and restructuring of branches is accompanied by a comprehensive strategy to maintain branches and keep them active and responsive during off-campaign periods. ”
The party has identified the regions of Kavango East, Zambezi, Oshana, Hardap, Kunene South and Khomas for the first phase of the restructuring process.
Ngaringombe said he would be in contact with the coordinators of these regions this week to kick-start the process. “The newly structured and created branches will form the foundation for the party’s campaign in 2019,” he said.
“With regard to rebranding, the president of DTA, McHenry Venaani, will over the course of the next month appoint nine members to a special presidential committee on rebranding to guide the rebranding process,” Ngaringombe noted.
He further said it must be noted that the DTA central committee has in principle previously approved rebranding. “The presidential commission will, however, now be tabling and implementing the specific modalities regarding rebranding,” Ngaringombe said.
In line with the strategic goal to increase the party’s support base across the country, the DTA will open its new head office in Oshana Region by the end of next month. This is an ambitious move by the DTA to penetrate the traditional Swapo strongholds in northern Namibia.