Boost for Swapo election campaign

PRESIDENT Hifikepunye Pohamba flew to the North on Monday to receive a donation on behalf of Swapo from a company belonging to Pakistani businesspeople at Oshikango.

Fatima Plastics Manufacturing, through its Pakistan Oshikango Welfare Association, donated campaign materials worth N$2,5 million to Swapo at Eenhana.Some 50 000 Swapo flags, 80 000 stickers, 5 040 T-shirts, 10 000 keyrings, 15 000 badges, 10 000 posters and 1 000 flexboards were given to Pohamba to boost the ruling party’s campaign prior to the November 27 to 28 presidential and national elections.He was accompanied by Marco Hausiku (chairperson of Swapo’s sub-committee on culture), Errki Nghimtina (chairperson national leaders assigned to Ohangwena), as well as deputy ministers Lempy Lucas and Pohamba Shifeta.Both Pohamba and Swapo are favoured to remain in the ruling seat as they have a huge advantage over opposition parties in terms of support base but also financially – which includes the use of State machinery such as free trips to the regions for Pohamba, his aides and ministers.The party also gets the biggest share of State funding for political parties represented in the National Assembly and has a budget of around N$10 million for the upcoming elections and next year’s local elections.The company was approached by Pohamba’s son and Ondobe constituency councillor Mandume Pohamba for a donation.The Fatima donation was handed over to Pohamba by the company’s Managing Director, Muhammad Saeed, who was accompanied by his General Manager Tanweer Akram and other managers of Fatima Plastics sister companies. Saeed said they were pleased by Pohamba’s decision to receive the donation in person.In the past, through its welfare organisation, the company donated desks, chairs, computers and school uniforms to several schools as well as cash to football clubs.’Swapo is like a mother of all Namibians. It runs through their veins like blood. I have no hesitation to declare that the country is on the right track under the Swapo government and policies. There is peace, law and order, respect for foreign investors and there is a lot of business opportunity for the businesspeople under the government of Swapo,’ Saeed said.Pohamba said the materials came at the right time and will facilitate a better election campaign.He said he was confident that the people of Namibia would once again demonstrate their support for Swapo by giving it a resounding new mandate in the forthcoming elections.He called on all Swapo members and supporters to avoid any violation of other people’s democratic rights in the run-up to the elections.’Don’t take up guns or other weapons against other people, don’t beat other people, don’t insult and assault other people during the election campaign. Everyone must see to it that the campaign is fair and done in a democratic manner,’ Pohamba said.He called on Swapo members not to listen to ‘tribal’ political parties, which he said were formed by people who only wanted to be leaders and would never work in the interest of the people.