By: Josia Shigwedha 

SPYL secretary Ephraim Nekongo says his primary focus will be enhancing food production and transforming the agricultural sector. Nekongo is one of the 10 Swapo members who made it onto Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s list. 

Fourty-one-year-old Nekongo says he will work to transform the economy and create jobs.

He said that by adding value to products, both men and women would be empowered, and unemployment would be reduced. 

“The first thing that I will prioritise as a person is food production.  To transform our agriculture so that we can be able to feed ourselves amidst anything. Before we talk about other things, let’s feed ourselves. We can’t talk about any development if we are a hungry nation. We can’t talk about any development if we are being fed from somewhere else. But the moment we are able to produce our own food, the moment we are able to add value, and the men in the street can be able to do the sorting of vegetables, and men in the street can be able to add value to the vegetables and create another product,” said Nekongo. 

Another youth who could be on his way to parliament,35-year-old Willem Amutenya, said his focus would be on economic development and employment creation. 

“Really my focus would be on economic development and employment creation, which is currently an issue that is really affecting young people. In that, we are saying, we are going to concentrate on how best the natural resources that we have in our republic can benefit our very own,” remarked Amutenya.

Political analyst Rui Tyitende supported Nekongo’s views, saying the government must invest significantly in agriculture.

Tyitende said Namibia now has 11 green schemes, compared to seven before independence.

“So, the government hasn’t really taken agriculture seriously, despite the fact on numerous occasions Swapo’s political manifesto always contained agriculture, they’ll invest in agriculture, but we can now see that was just lip service. Nothing really major has happened. So, we need to invest seriously in agriculture, not only to promote food security, but also to create jobs, especially for graduates that have studied agriculture, and also for unskilled and semi-skilled Namibians,” said Tyitende.

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