SWAPO fine-tunes policy roadmap - Delegates zoom in on key and touchy issues
By Asser Ntinda, SWAPO-Party web.site
SWAPO Party's first ever policy conference ended in Windhoek on Thursday with a host of recommendations that will interrogate delegates at Party's elective congress which starts at the end of November this year.
Over 300 delegates attended the conference, which allowed them to brainstorm and discuss economic and social challenges facing Namibia. The conference was characterized by open and frank discussions.
Self-congratulatory messages took a back-seat. Delegates frankly and openly discussed sensitive issues and emotive challenges with a view to finding lasting solutions and redefine the way forward.
"It was going to be pointless and self-defeating if we only spent the last four days congratulating ourselves on simple successes when we know deep in our heart that there are serious problems which condemn our people to a life of grinding poverty," remarked one delegate shortly after the conference wrapped up.
"Discussions were heavy and loaded. We agreed from day one that we must be serious in finding solutions to the many challenges we face as a country and as a ruling Party. That is exactly what we did."
President Hifikepunye Pohamba described the Policy Conference a resounding success, saying that the commitment demonstrated during the discussions over the past four days should continue to keep Namibia's national development agenda on course.
"The SWAPO Party should take pride in the fact that we have successfully hosted our first ever National Policy Conference," he said. "We have used this opportunity to discuss and critique policy positions, with a view to producing better policies that will effectively address the development challenges facing our nation today and in the coming years."
Thirteen Policy Papers were presented to the Conference by the SWAPO Party Think Tank, and discussions centered on those papers. The papers were neatly aligned to Namibia's development agenda, which is informed by the 2009 SWAPO Party Election Manifesto.
"Proper planning is always at the centre of the success of any organization," said President Pohamba. "If you fail to plan, you are setting yourself up for failure. The SWAPO Party is not, and cannot be expected to be different or immune from this truth. What SWAPO Party has done here was to reinforce the culture of planning within our organization. "This culture should continue to guide and permeate all our actions so that the SWAPO Party can become a stronger and modern organization that is able to respond effectively to the current and emerging challenges facing our nation. In order to overcome the challenges of the 21st Century, we must adopt and apply the tools of the 21st Century. This is the only workable solution. "Let us continue to build and plan for the SWAPO Party in unity of purpose and action. Let us continue to do our very best for the well-being of our country and all her people. Let us put the interests of our people and country before anything else. "This is the only way to ensure that the SWAPO Party continues to enjoy the confidence of Namibian voters and gain more support of all sections of our population. The strength of our Party lies in our commitment to unity and our rejection of retrogressive tendencies of division, tribalism, ethnicity and factionalism."
Go to top
