LPM manifesto calls for Namibia to become federal state, gradual removal of redline

The Landless People’s Movement (LPM) will make Namibia a federal state once in power.

According to their manifesto, the orange party wants to change the country from a unitary state to a federal one.

“We propose the establishment of six to eight federal states, each endowed with substantive administrative and fiscal autonomy to directly govern and allocate resources according to local needs, thereby dismantling the monopolisation of public funds at the centre and a referendum will be called [on] this matter,” the party says.

They aim to transfer decision-making authority to the people.

The current unitary state means power and authority are concentrated in a central government.

CPM wants to restructure the Government Institutions Pensions Fund to achieve equitable disbursement of pension funds.

Political analyst Ben Mulongeni on Monday said LPM offers “something” new and innovative.

“LPM is talking about overhauling, if not changing, the whole system, particularly the systems of the government and economy,” he said.

He said the party wants to transform the offices of all major and crucial agencies like the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Namibian Police.

“They have got quite interesting proposals there, which make sense,” the analyst said.

Mulongeni welcomed the proposed citizen’s council on national resources.

“They proposed plans for the establishment of institutions that can process our minerals, […] proposing government involvement or state involvement, not state control, but state participation, so that they can properly direct the development agenda of the country,” he said.

Political analyst Henning Melber on Sunday told The Namibian that LPM’s manifesto is a mix of contradictions.

“It is in parts rather appealing to those who expect some fundamental policy changes, while in other parts it is disappointingly vague or rather placative,” he said.

Melber said using some academic parlance on over 80 pages sometimes creates the impression of a cut-and-paste job. He believes that it might not be the best strategy to reach out to ordinary voters.

“At a closer look, many statements emphasise the intention of radical transformation guided by a “leftist doctrinal philosophy” or a “Marxist perspective”, both quotes from the manifesto. But the developmentalist trajectory remains fixated on a traditional economic growth path,” Melber said.

He pointed out that pillar three on agriculture and land might be the most competent in the manifesto.

“The gradual removal of the redline signals a responsible approach to a controversial matter, given the implications this has for the export of Namibian meat,” the analyst said.

Melber believes it shows that LPM has some competence in the policy it advocates.

“[They did] not fall for pseudo-radical populist demands for the immediate removal of the veterinary cordon fence as others do, which would have damaging effects for the export of agricultural products.”

On their foreign policy, the analyst said they remain rather vague.

“Declaring to align with ‘global forces of the left’ without any specification they also declare to cooperate with ‘private business corporations and all other progressive forces and states’,” he said.