May Day – the second struggle is on

The annual May Day celebrations, held in Khorixas today, saw agriculture minister Alpheus !Naruseb stand in for the vice-president, Nangolo Mbumba, who prepared the keynote address on behalf of President Hage Geingob. A small crowd of people attended the event which is celebrated across the world to recognise workers and their struggles everywhere.This year, the theme was ‘Namibian workers and employers unite for economic upliftment’ which !Naruseb said represents the inclusivity as emphasised in the concept of the Namibian House.“Pursuing prosperity is futile without you, our workers. You are the fire that ignites the engine of our economy. You are and will always be Namibia’s most valuable asset in the fight against poverty and in the pursuit of a prosperous future.”!Naruseb spoke at length on the contribution made by the workers and their unions in Namibia’s liberation struggle saying, “the workers’ fight for justice in the work place, coinciding with the broader national struggle for socio-economic and political rights and freedoms, became a central plank of the anti-colonial resistance movement and the backbone of SWAPO in 1960.”However, the minister added, political freedom which gave workers their rights did not afford them “shared prosperity” and better welfare. “The challenges facing these two goals are subjected to our common objective of achieving economic emancipation for all Namibians. Already, the theme of this year’s May Day commemoration which seeks a constructive dialogue for unity between labour and capital is the right starting place, for identifying and removing some of these entrenched structural impediments, and we look forward to hear from the NUNW collective leadership with constructive suggestions in this regard. Ultimately, the fortunes of all Namibian workers and their future generations are inextricably tied to Namibia’s attainment of the aims and objectives of its economic freedom.”The struggle for economic freedom, will not be easy, the minister said but, “will be long and bitter, and just as many did not live to see the day of our political freedom, many of our compatriots too may not experience economic freedom in their lifetime, but their children and grandchildren will see the day”.The minister touched on crime and corruption, urging workers and Namibians alike to refrain from some activities. He also warned against losing focus.“A classic example of side-tracking from the core mandate of pursuing economic freedom is the current fruitless discourse of heaping the blame for all which is economically wrong on the government. This discourse is ahistorical, and is creating the incorrect impression that the peoples’ government, while having all means to provide the basic necessities of life to its citizens, is wilfully denying them. This narrative has been advanced by a small yet media-connected coterie of politically opportunistic people who seemed to have vowed to target the government and denounce it as everything but good and competent until it is brought down. Together with some media houses, and on Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter forums this group has been chronically painting the sitting president in very dark colours.” He intimated that this can only stop if all Namibians adhere to the core values of peace, unity and inclusivity as advocated for by the Geingob administration.Civil society however, was accused of inaction.“More telling, however is the silence of some of our civic partners such as the labour movement, the church, traditional leaders, the youth, elders and women groups in this regard. The, voices of reason of our co-workers have gone silent. For example, the public discourse on the NEEEF, have been dominated by some analysts and segments of the media posturing as the civil society, and daily expounding the notion that anything which government propose should be opposed as corruption ridden, environment destroying, costly or incompetent.“It is at this point, where the workers under the leadership of the NUNW are expected to get their house in order, be united as one, and to solidly fall behind government efforts to appropriate a share of the means of production for all the Namibians.” He called on existing think tanks to assist government to clearly delineate and conceptualise the constituent elements of the second struggle, that of economic freedom.He concluded by urging workers to take part in the national clean-up campaign.STAFF REPORTER

May Day – the second struggle is on

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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May Day – the second struggle is on

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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