KATIMA MULILO – In a bid to canvass votes for Swapo and its presidential candidate, finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi said the ruling party has improved Namibia’s road infrastructure, housing, education, healthcare, social welfare, agriculture and youth development, among other key sectors.
Speaking during a mini rally at Katima Mulilo over the weekend, Shiimi listed the government’s achievements.
On education, he said at independence, there were only 1 300 primary and secondary schools, but the government had built more schools and there now more than 2 000 schools in the country.
“We are in the top 10 African countries who are spending more on education. The most budget goes to education as we care for the youth. This year alone we are spending close to N$1 billion for building classrooms. We want to see pupils having classrooms. This programme will continue for the next five years,” finance minister said.
In fact, he lashed out at critics who say the government has failed to bring development to the people.“They only know how to talk. They have never run a government before. We have seen some running local authorities but those local authorities are in shambles,” Shiimi said.
He accused some opposition politicians of not wanting to run the affairs of Namibia but rather they want a job.
“They want work. They want to go parliament and get a salary,” Shiimi charged.
According to him, the Swapo led government cares about all Namibians, while convincing the electorate not to believe the hay says that the party did nothing for the people.
He told those in attendance the government had realised that its housing strategy needed to change had revised it.
“We want to accelerate housing delivery and serviced land. We have made an allocation of more than N$700 million for upgrading informal settlements. The town of Katima Mulilo must also benefit from this,” Shiimi said to the applause from the crowd.
On road and railway infrastructure, he said the government continues to invest in that sector for the benefit of all Namibians.
He also boasted that Namibia remains the African country with the best road infrastructure.
Other achievements Shiimi highlighted include the upgrading of the dilapidated Katima Mulilo airport to unlock tourism opportunities.
Another milestone he mentioned was the 24-hour border operation between Namibia and Zambia, adding that the government is hard at work to make it a one-stop border facility soon.
On agriculture, Shiimi said Zambezi region is the bread basket of the country.
“People here have land. We only have to make sure we assist them to work on the land and produce food,” he told.
Another achievement he highlighted is the upgrading of the Katima Mulilo abattoir which has landed niche markets in East African and mooted ones in the Middle East.
“Qatar has indicated to us that meat from the NCA [northern communal areas] is welcome,” Shiimi said.
“Come 27 November- we must wake up early and make sure our voters’ cards are next to us,” he urged.