'Not a party of empty promises'

President Hage Geingob kicked off the Swapo Party election campaign in Walvis Bay on Saturday. “We are not a party that campaigns on empty promises. We campaign based on a tested and proven track record. Commitments are made based on that record,” he told a packed Kuisebmond stadium. “The resounding success of the launch has sent shockwaves across the Namibian political landscape. In an attempt to downplay this success, the opposition has propagated a false narrative around our manifesto. These are acts of desperation since the launch was worthy of a total knock-out blow. “Give Swapo another five years to maintain peace, unity and stability, to weather economic headwinds and to safeguard the sovereignty of Namibia. Give the Swapo Party government another five years to finish the work already started – to expand the horizons for inclusive development and shared prosperity,” he said.Geingob said the party never makes empty promises and never exaggerates its achievements. “We are realistic; we point out where we have excelled and admit where we have fallen short and need to improve. Swapo has delivered a government for the people, by the people. A clear illustration of this is the recently concluded town hall meetings, where we visited all 14 regions of the country to interact with the masses. “Approximately 19 000 Namibians from all walks of life participated in 101 hours of dialogue, where we gave account to our bosses, the ultimate sovereigns. In total we received 1 083 questions and proposals from the regions and we intend to respond to all the issues raised.” He highlighted some of the achievements of the Swapo government. “Justice delayed is justice denied and we have therefore worked hard to improve the success rate of court-connected mediations from 56% in 2014 to 67% by 2018. “We aim to improve our ability to administer the law by establishing more district courts and periodic high courts. In the declared war against corruption we amended the ACC Act of 2003 and passed the Whistle-blower Act 10 of 2017 to strengthen our ability to fight corruption. We have taken a zero-tolerance stance to prevail in the fight against corruption.” He further stated that within a period of 22 years, poverty had declined from 70%to 18% by 2016. Earlier this year he declared the current drought a state of emergency. “More than 400 000 Namibians [have been] lifted out of poverty since independence. Inequalities in income and wealth also declined over the same period, from 0.70 to 0.56 (Gini-coefficient). Marginal decline is indicative of the deeply embedded and structural nature of the problem. “We are committed to ensuring that all Namibians feel safe and secure in the Namibian House. All Namibians have the right to life and dignity. We are intensifying our fight against crimes such as gender-based violence, disproportionately affecting women and children and undermining the sanctity of life.”Geingob encouraged the attendees to vote Swapo since “it's the only party that can guarantee Namibia a continued and positive growth trajectory”. “We do not live in the past; we are future focused. Which other party has the capacity to respond to 4IR and talk about it at the launch of its manifesto? “We are the party that is continually reinventing itself. From the original cabinet of 1990, only I remain. From the original parliament, there are only four cadres remaining. The rest are new blood. “Affirming that in Swapo change is the only constant. Swapo is the only party that has united all races, ages, tribes, ethnicities and regions. Vote Swapo for peace, unity and development. Vote Swapo to stabilise the economy and continue Namibia's economic growth and development,” he said. LEANDREA LOUW

'Not a party of empty promises'

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-04

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'Not a party of empty promises'

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-04

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