Swapo plunged each Namibian into N$45k debt - Itula

OGONE TLHAGE WINDHOEKIndependent Patriots for Change (IPC) leader Dr Panduleni Itula says government’s N$117 billion public debt means each Namibian in principle owes creditors an average of N$45 000.He also took issue with Namibia’s elevated debt levels, and questioned how the country has amassed N$117 billion in debt since independence.“At independence, we had no debt. Ten years later, our debt was N$13 billion. In 2016, our debt was N$64.5 billion; at the moment our debt is N$117 billion and it’s climbing,” he said.Itula made the remarks while addressing his party members at a rally held in Windhoek’s Katutura on Saturday.Reverse racismHe also accused President Hage Geingob of ‘reverse racism’ after the head of state recently took issue with the growing number of white Namibians registering to vote.Geingob said the white people registering were declaring a ‘war’ on Swapo.Itula said IPC does not choose members on the basis of their skin colour.“We came together in August, some of the people have come around and started saying that there are too many whites in IPC, and someone has to remind them that was said by the head of state, the custodian of the Namibian Constitution,” the IPC leader said.“The man took an oath in terms of Article 30 that he shall protect and endeavour justice for all the inhabitants of Namibia, and yet he was prepared to apply reverse apartheid to select a group of people based on the colour of their skin. Little did he realise [that] in IPC, we have gone past the skin,” Itula said. Ability over raceIPC, Itula said, looked at the abilities of its members over their genetic make-up.“We have come to realise, for us to rebuild Namibia, we have to travel into a person’s humanity, that is where we look for strength of unity,” he said.He also took issue with Geingob’s new signature campaign slogan “We have heard you”.“How can anybody go around and say we have heard you, where have you been all these 30 years?” Itula wanted to know.Fishrot exposed corruptionHe told his party members that the Fishrot scandal exposed the extent of corruption in the country.“For too long, our people have sounded that we are tired of 30 years of promises, tired of corruption, tired of the looting, tired of even legalising laws that allow people to loot our resources, yet we are told they did not know,” Itula said.“Last year, unfortunately the whole calabash fell apart. All the Fishrot came out and we realised how much we suffered,” he said.

Swapo plunged each Namibian into N$45k debt - Itula

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-10

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Swapo plunged each Namibian into N$45k debt - Itula

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-10

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