WINDHOEK – President of the DTA, McHenry Venaani, says that if his party wins the Otjinene local authority elections, it will bring an administration that is inclusive and promote economic development by bringing in new investment.
“We will bring new investments into the village to maximise competition and ease the prices of commodity goods for consumers,” he said.
Venaani said this when he addressed members of his party at Otjinene last Friday.
He said the DTA would protect Otjinene from the scourge of corruption and put in the best candidates to represent the interests of disadvantaged communities, such as the San.
“We urge the residents of Otjinene to shun parties that promote ethnicity and work with a party that is a force of tranquility for the benefit of all communities,” stated Venaani.
Otjinene residents will go to the polls tomorrow to vote for leaders of a new local authority, which would proclaim the sleepy eastern village a town.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) shelved the Otjinene local authority elections in 2011, due to an unusually high number of objections raised by Swapo and Nudo against prospective voters.
The dispute stemmed from claims some people registered as voters while they did not live in the area for 12 consecutive months.
Members of the public and political parties were given an opportunity to inspect a provisional list that was mounted in public places and make objections if they thought certain people who were on the voters’ roll were not qualified to vote in that area.
To qualify, a potential voter needs to fulfill the requirement of having lived in the town for twelve months consecutively by providing municipal bills in their name or through sworn statements by others who could testify that they have lived there for that period.
Venaani said his party has a plan “to push back the frontiers of poverty” by making sure that all old houses in Otjinene are given to individuals to occupy for a period of 12 years to ensure ownership of property rights as a town council can only survive from ratepayers.
“We will bring a vocational training centre in this town to allow our youth to receive training as apprentices, for jobs to go to inhabitants to further develop a revenue stream,” Venaani entreated voters.
Although Otjinene is a Nudo stronghold, three other political parties – the DTA, Swapo Party and Swanu – have also been on a strong campaign trail to win the local council elections and wrestle its reins from Nudo.
Venaani laid claim last week that that the DTA won over 35 new members from Swapo and Nudo.