Several opposition parties have now issued their manifestos including the National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo), which recently issued a 40-page booklet.
Ideologically, Nudo has usually been in the same mould as the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (from which it split in 2003) – putting forward mainly centrist policy positions. Swapo’s dominance and the centralised nature of government have been major concerns for the party since 2003. In the past, the party has spoken in favour of introducing a federal system in Namibia, which would see more power going to the regions. However, in the party’s 2004 and 2009 manifestos federalism is not explicitly mentioned. Previously Nudo also wanted the formation of a government of national unity, but this is dropped in the latest manifesto.
In his foreword to the 2009 manifesto, Riruako distinguishes Nudo as a party that cares, especially for those who are poor and marginalised. He maintains that “the biggest indictment of democracy in Namibia is that poverty has worsened”.
The manifesto goes on to point out that the Namibian economy has not produced enough jobs since independence, while many of those who are employed earn “slave wages” . The party accuses Swapo of failing to diversify the economy, create jobs, and improve “agricultural output”. Nudo wants to see a country where citizens do not live in poverty and where economic growth serves development needs such as food security, health and education.
The party also emphasises the need to “modernise democratic institutions and entrench democratic governance” and undertake “massive public investment” in health and education. The first part of the manifesto is largely generalised statements of intent. It is followed by the outlining of 13 priority policy areas in which the party sets out ‘the challenge’ and ‘the solution’ for each item.
Education – Measures proposed include: offering free education up to Grade 12; each region having at least one technical school; cutting teacher-student ratios; ensuring affordable, quality pre-school education; computer awareness programmes in all schools; ending the system of ‘automatic transfer’ of ‘slow learners’ to the next grade; increasing the number of student teachers and bursaries for subjects such as maths and science; allowing regions to formulate their own education policies within a national framework; and introducing incentives for qualified teachers to teach in rural areas.
Health – The manifesto targets the appalling state of clinics and health centres, staff shortages, and poor staff morale. A Nudo government would declare AIDS a national disaster, widen the roll-out of ARVs, advocate ‘routine’ voluntary counselling and testing, and enable the local production or import of generic drugs for HIV/AIDS patients. In addition, a human resource plan would be introduced to encourage the recruitment and retention of health professionals. Hospitals will operate on a ratio of one nurse to four patients. Every health centre will have an ambulance. A chronic illness grant would also be introduced, while the criteria for disability grants for people with HIV/AIDs would be reviewed.
Land – The party says Swapo “has systematically marginalised the rural areas” where basic infrastructure is visibly missing. Nudo wants one integrated land law rather than the present system which distinguishes between communal and commercial areas. This would “facilitate tenure reforms and the administration of freehold and communal farming land”. The party also feels a national land conference is long overdue. Nudo sees a role for regulating land prices to prevent “dubious” practices during transactions and to ensure affirmative action loan farmers are not destined to see their land repossessed. The party also wants to see joint ventures between established farmers and prospective land owners.
When it comes to resettlement, Nudo wants to see policy recognise that some indigenous communities have been dispossessed of land more than others. This would mean according priority to those who lost their ancestral land without necessarily recognising claims to ancestral land.
Agriculture and Water – Nudo would introduce a drought relief programme that would be funded on an annual basis whether there was a crisis or not. This would enable government to act more quickly to head off the effects of droughts when they occur. Nudo wants to see subsistence farmers moving to small-scale commercial farming with government support such as soft loans. Agricultural extension services would be outsourced to commercial operators. Nudo would provide water in rural and peri-urban areas on a partial cost recovery basis and would write off existing debts as part of a review of community-based management of water resources.
Decentralisation – Nudo notes that government has achieved little in terms of decentralisation as Swapo is centralist and authoritarian in nature. Nudo wants to see the devolution of powers to the regions, so that decision-making and budgeting takes place at a regional level through sub-national governments.
Job Creation and Economic Growth – The manifesto says “job creation is the number one priority for the party”. Among its proposals are ensuring the tender system is in line with an expedited decentralisation policy; giving small businesses easier access to capital; investing more in infrastructure development; liberalising the communications sector; requiring that all legislation is examined for its impact on employment levels; promoting broad-based Black Economic Empowerment; and introduce public works programmes. To fund such measures Nudo will reduce cabinet to 27 members; merging various ministries with Information joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Veterans joining Defence, Safety and Security joining Home Affairs. The plans for a residence for founding president Sam Nujoma will be abolished and he will be given the old State House instead.
Democracy and Governance – Nudo has Swapo has promoted a system of government that is devoid of a participatory character. The party says the development of regular National Development Plans has become the domain of bureaucrats unaccountable to the people. The party accuses the government of “assaulting” the independence of institutions like the National Assembly and the Electoral Commission of Namibia while the ruling party has merged with the State. Among Nudo’s proposals are a reduction in the powers of the presidency and boosting the committee system of parliament and making it open to the public.
Among other policy proposals are: the establishment of a Basic Income Grant; introducing a quota system to ensure a fair representation at local and national political levels; create a department for people with disabilities in the office of the President; mandatory timeframes for judgements and sentencing; the introduction of ‘hard labour’ for certain crimes
It is hard to imagine many prospective voters wading through the Nudo manifesto, which is rather dense and unattractive in format. There is definitely a case for producing a voter-friendly leaflet outlining key policies in a short and accessible manner. Many of the proposals do not seem to differ greatly from current government policy while the wording is often vague. The document would have benefitted from a severe edit which would have sorted out problems like mining being dealt with under a section called Agriculture and Water Resources. It would have also avoided some strange use of language such as references to ‘venerable children’ and ‘confessional loans’ (presumably ‘vulnerable’ and ‘concessional’).
Aside from some limited measures aimed at reducing the size of government, there is no attempt to explain how Nudo’s policies would be funded.
Who is the party’s leader?
The party has been led by Kuaima Riruako since 1978. He is also the paramount chief of the Herero people and is currently a Nudo MP in the National Assembly.
Does the party have a website?
Yes. http://www.nudoofnamibia.org.na
More about the party
Nudo is one of Namibia’s oldest political parties, having formed on September 25 1964 as an initiative of the Herero Chiefs Council. Herero Chief Clemens Kapuuo led Nudo until his mysterious assassination in 1978. Kuaima Riruako has been the president of Nudo since then. The party operated under the umbrella of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) from 1977 until it broke away in 2003. Nudo still has close links with the Herero people and its strongholds of support are generally in the east of the country. However, the party presents itself as a national party with a national agenda. Nudo currently has three seats in the National Assembly.
Standout Policies
* Land redistribution that favours communities that lost ancestral land
* Much greater powers for elected regional authorities
* Creation of permanent drought relief fund
* Merging ministries to reduce government size
* Introduction of Basic Income Grant
Election Watch is a project of the Institute for Public Policy Research in Windhoek, Namibia.