WINDHOEK - Swanu of Namibia on Saturday launched its 2014 national election campaign in Windhoek, saying it expects to canvass a significant number of votes at the polls. At the launch Swanu also promised to make public their 2014 election manifesto within the next three weeks. An national election date is yet to be set.

Swanu president Usutuaije Maamberua and other party leaders spent the afternoon engaging the people of the Babylon informal settlement located on the outskirts of the capital. The party recruited 48 new members on the day.

Maamberua, who is vying for the country’s presidency, told the crowd that should they elect Swanu into power, it would premise its focus on social issues such as land, wealth creation, social justice, education and national unity.

“The people of this country are free but not united. We will make sure that everyone in Namibia is treated equally because only through that can there be respect amongst people,” Maamberua said.

Maamberua also spoke out against tribalism and called for all tribes to be treated equally. “We must not have one tribe dominating another,” he said.

He promised that Swanu would make sure there is a vocational training centre in each of the country’s 14 regions so that Namibia’s education system produces job creators instead of job seekers.

According to Maamberua, the party was growing in numbers and he described Swanu as the “government in waiting”.

“Those who are writing us off this year are mistaken, therefore we call on those interested to join Swanu so that they can enjoy the fruits when we take over government,” he said. 

Maamberua joined the party in 1977 before going into exile in 1978. He returned to Namibia in 1990. He was an advisor to the African Development Bank and is a former permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance. 

He is currently Swanu’s sole member of parliament.

By Mathias Haufiku