LOCAL activist, Edison Uapingene has thrown his hat into the Katutura Central constituency race, where he intends to contest as an independent candidate in the November regional and local authority elections.
Uapingene announced his intentions on social media a few weeks ago.
He is a youth activist and a member of the Ovaherero Youth League, which falls under the Ovaherero Traditional Authority.
Uapingene is also the co-founder of Lifetime Difference Youth Association (LDYA) which is aimed at empowering the youth in creating better employment opportunities for themselves.
“I, Edison Uapingene, will stand as an independent candidate to represent all the people of Katutura Central, irrespective of their political affiliations,” he wrote on social media.
“As a young leader and a youth activist, I will represent all the Namibian youth, for we are no longer leaders of tomorrow as we are referred to but leaders of today,” Uapingene stated on social media.
He told The Namibian that he was inspired by the performance of former independent presidential candidate, Panduleni Itula.
“As an activist, I follow with a keen interest the activities of the AR, as they drive the agendas of youth empowerment with their radical thinking,” he stated.
Sharing his vision for the constituency office, Uapingene said he would tackle issues such as the formalisation of ‘Herero Mall’ into an SME park such as Soweto Market or Single Quarters, so that it can be rented out to the youth or small businesses at affordable prices,
Sanitation is also one of the biggest problems at that place, and more toilets need to be constructed and a fence to protect those operating within that area, he said.
“One has to be the voice of the voiceless for the municipality of Windhoek to prioritise the development of that area especially if we want to create self-employment for the youth of this constituency,” Uapingene noted.
He also pointed out the lack of recreational infrastructure like parks, libraries and sports stadiums in Katutura as a whole.
“Our children have nowhere to play, there is only one park in Katutura, UN Plaza is not safe for our children. Our young people are losing focus, they are more into drugs and alcohol.
I will try to fight this moral decay from within Katutura Central,” he said.
The activist stated that he will launch his election manifesto in due course.
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