Martin Endjala
The Swapo Party’s vice president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said the government will allocate N$85.7 billion over five years to create mass employment if voted into power.
Nandi-Ndaitwah made the announcement over the past weekend at the launch of the party’s 2025-2030 election manifesto.
She said the manifesto has prioritised projects that would create employment opportunities leading to the absorption into the job market of unemployed graduates and other Namibians seeking employment.
“The election manifesto covers social development and empowerment for all Namibians. That is why Namibians should vote for the Swapo,” she said.
Netumbo said the party has committed to create about 256 000 jobs during her five-year term.
Swapo has been in power since 1990.
Netumbo said jobs will be created through value addition initiatives.
“These commitments include sports infrastructure development and career development, education, arts and creative industries,” she said.
Housing, sanitation, and youth empowerment will support appropriate programmes and national youth fund as well as the provision of universal health coverage such as hospital upgrades.
Nandi-Ndaitwah further committed to the development of agricultural schemes and food production amongst others.
“To make sure that this manifesto is fully implemented come 2030, an implementation action plan will be developed in alignment with a monitoring evaluation plan,” she assured.
She said that once elected, she would be the leader for all Namibians while calling for unity and collaboration despite different opinions, culture and economic status.
“There are those outside, who are trying their best to destabilise us. But as a nation the future is in our hands and unity is the only tool we can use,”she said.
She said that since 1990, the party has reduced poverty and the proportion of the population living below the poverty line from 69.3% to 17.4% in 2023.
She indicated that the size of the economy as measured by gross domestic product, has increased from N$7.2 billion in 1990 to N$227.8 billion in 2023.
Former diplomatic representative of Namibia, Ambassador Pius Dunaiski said such empty promises have been made since independence, and Swapo has failed dismally.
“The amount is unrealistic and would be contingent on a massive surge of the economy,” he pointed out.
He said the green hydrogen and oil and gas would only come on stream by 2030.
He is of the view that Nandi-Ndaitwah lives in a dream world and after 35 years of misrule and corruption and huge wastage of the treasury on luxuries and misguided big projects such as Neckartal Dam and the N$750 million Swapo headquarters in Windhoek was self-serving.
“Swapo is surely in panic mode. However, the eyes of Namibians are hopefully open now. Promises won’t realise this time,” he stated.
He said fatigue from Swapo has set in across the country, particularly among young people who cannot find jobs.
Political analyst Henning Melber said that in the 2024/25 financial year, expenditure for education, arts and culture grew to N$18.3 billion.
Health and social services grew to N$10.9 billion, agriculture and land reform stands at N$1.9 billion and sport at N$680 million.
“Already a total of N$31.8 billion. As we know, this expenditure has not created any significant employment. Rather unemployment has grown during recent years. So what are the earmarked N$17 billion supposed to be for each year, and where do they come from?,” he questioned.
He said that if this is additional money, then it requires some magic, if not, necessary services will be significantly reduced or shut down thereby adding to unemployment instead of creating jobs.
“The impression created is that such money would be a magic bullet. But this is another example of populist promises, made up in the absence of a proper plan,” he stated.
