Former Kavango East Farmers Union chairperson Adolf Muremi has been elected as the next Namibia National Farmers’ Union (NNFU) president at their just-elective congress, replacing Jason Emvula, who occupied the position for the last seven years.
Muremi was elected at the just-ended NNFU elective congress held in Rundu, which also saw Diana Matheys from the //Kharas region assume the vice presidency seat, while the position of secretary general went to Manfred Rukoro from Erongo.
Rukoro is deputised by Christine Mutumbu Haironga from Kavango West, and the treasurer position went to Tobias Kalimbo from the Oshikoto region.
“I accept this responsibility, and this is the responsibility of all of us. I was privileged to chat to one of the founding members, Mr Vehaka Tjimune, and he told me how NNFU came into existence, which was very interesting. If we engage this type of people during our term, it could be one way of understanding the history of NNFU. We are going to work as a team and our predecessors as part of the team,’’ said Muremi when accepting his next assignment.
“Our farmers are suffering in different ways, according to their geographical areas; therefore, we will have to double our efforts to turn this thing around. During our induction, let’s try to understand the challenges of NNFU and work on it. We are the mouthpiece of farmers in communal areas south and north [of the redline]; hence, we are not representative of our regions. Let’s have engagements with various stakeholders, and you are in these positions because of your expertise; therefore, we should not relax,’’ he stated.
Muremi urged the secretariat and the board to investigate policies that are archaic and no longer serve farmers’ best interests.
“We can’t operate without guidelines/ regulations. I don’t want to promise much but we will engage the regional leadership to understand your concerns and challenges more,’’ he said.
Muremi then asked his newly elected team and board to carefully acquaint themselves with the content of their constitution and strategic plan. “This is democracy, and the farmers have spoken. As the new leadership, let’s work hard to bring about change where needed, and unity is key for us to succeed. To my predecessor, Mr Jason Emvula, I thank you for building a foundation on which we are going to build on. You have been the captain of this ship for the last seven years,’’ he said.
The elective congress also saw the election and appointment of a new board, with Vetuundja Kazaapua – Omaheke – as chairperson, and Sirrkka Ileka – Omusati – as deputy chairperson.
Other board members are Elizabeth Amutenya (Oshana), Beukes Libney (Hardap), Amon Kapi (Kunene North), Nathanael Nicodemus (Ohangwena), Kita Katjikurupa (Kunene South), Jackson Uapi (Otjozondjupa) and Alexina Kabula from Zambezi. - jmuyamba@nepc.com.na