Erasmus Shalihaxwe
The United Democratic Front’s (UDF) spokesperson, Mabasen Narib said if the party gets the chance to govern Namibia, education will be free of charge from pre-primary up to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) level in the country.
Narib said this during an interview with the Windhoek Observer on Tuesday while explaining the party’s plans for the November elections.
He said Namibians should trust the UDF with their votes because it will govern through the principles of social democracy.
“The needs of the nation will be prioritised and not left in the hands of the monopoly capitalists. This includes land, which will be available to all Namibians so that they can have decent houses,” he said.
He claims that the state will take custody of the available land and redistribute it to all Namibians.
“We are going to address inequalities in society, we will make education free from pre-primary up to the PHD level. We will increase the revenue base of the Namibian nation by ensuring that a reasonable amount of money is made through taxes charged on foreign companies investing in Namibia. We will reduce income tax paid by salaried individuals and also reduce the VAT charged on food,” he said.
According to him, this method of governance will guarantee the affordability of basic food items for all Namibians.
He said the UDF-led government will ensure that the Namibian state owns 50 percent of all strategic means of production, including mines and fisheries resources, turning Namibia into an industrialised nation.
He added that the party has made many changes over the years, with the most noticeable being the change in leadership and political programme approach.
Under the new leadership, UDF has introduced the philosophy of social democracy.
Despite the party’s financial difficulties, Mabasen explained that the leadership has begun raising national awareness through affordable channels.
“Through social media, by spreading the message of social democracy on podcasts, and so on. We have ongoing door-to-door operations all over the country, and we will still have rallies after the party manifesto launch next month. UDF is not funded by external sources, the party only gets funded by its members,” he alluded.
He added that the party has over 40 000 registered members, and that its strength lies in its philosophy of social democracy, which aims to bring development to the Namibian nation by addressing economic problems through a system of regulated capitalism.
“UDF advocates for partial ownership of the means of production by the state. UDF has a philosophy that will also eliminate inequalities by having social welfare programmes to ensure that all Namibians’ living standards are improved. The strength of the UDF is its philosophy and also the unity within the rank and file of the party. The new leadership of the party is busy transforming the party and making it appealing to Namibians from all walks of life,” said Narib.
