The Landless People’s Movement (LPM) has picked a 24-year-old activist as the sole party candidate for the Khorixas constituency in the upcoming regional council elections set for November. 

In an interview with New Era yesterday, Mckay Losper said the reason he decided to stand as a constituency councillor is because the youth are faced with many challenges and there is no one else to stand for them but themselves. 
“The majority of youth in the constituency are jobless, landless and mostly rely on their grandparents, parents, girlfriends and boyfriends for survival,” said Losper. “The town lacks development infrastructure and empowerment facilities. It is behind in terms of development and growth, and their youthful populaces are in dire need of practical policies intervention,” he said. 

According to him, 30 years after independence, the constituency does not have abundantly and adequately trained health professionals and if elected, these are among some of the issues he would address. “There is an extra-ordinarily high level of corruption within government structures which negatively affects the youth. Social development and assistance from the current constituency leadership mainly focuses on farmers and does not deliver impactful results in resolving the massive poverty and inequality challenges,” he said. 

Losper claims if elected, he will ensure no mines in the Khorixas district will operate without allocating key shares to the constituency development fund to contribute substantially in the development and utilisation of wealth for industrial growth and job creation.  “All mines planning to operate in the Khorixas district will be made aware strictly that 60% of labour comes from the Khorixas area and only skills which cannot be found in the Khorixas area will first be sought for in Kunene before searching nationally,” he vowed. 

He also said he will ensure that certain positions for general workers, labourers, cleaners, security guards and drivers, would strictly be reserved for people from the Khorixas area. Similarly, Losper said through the public–private partnership (PPP) initiative, if elected, his office would lead a process of rapid beneficiation of Khorixas mineral resources, to ensure that these resources are processed in Namibia and developed into finished products through joint venture establishments. Furthermore, the youthful activist said his office will strictly also ensure that a series of agricultural produce (crop production) projects are established. 

“We will build and support fresh produce markets for access by small-scale food producers, with a minimum of 50% access by women and the youth. We will lead a massive programme of food production together with traditional authorities by ensuring that all arable land in constituency is placed under production,” he vowed. He said discussions would be held with government to convert the Braunfels Agricultural High School into a University of Namibia School of Agriculture. 
“We will ensure that young and emerging receive technical and financial support and that a minimum of 40% of them are women and 30% are from disadvantaged and marginalised communities,” he added. “We will provide seeds, chemicals, implements, irrigation and water schemes to communities.”
– ktjitemisa@nepc.com.na