President Hage Geingob has called on the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) to unite for a common goal to enable the party to steer clear of strife and build a united front in pursuit of peaceful development of Namibia.
Opening SPYL’s central committee meeting here on Saturday, Geingob said the Namibian youth must be the architects to design and reimage the country, stressing that the attainment of economic emancipation which in turn will alleviate the burden of high youth unemployment can only be achieved through meticulous planning, effective strategy and constant hard work unitedly.
He noted the youth are “embryo Swapo” and have always played an integral role in the advancement of Namibia’s agenda both pre and post-independence, noting that to date, the Swapo Party is cognisant of the fact that young people must play an integral role whether in industry, communities, the military, education – because they are the catalysts for revolution.
“The revolution can only take place where there are those who are not afraid of making sacrifices, who meet difficulty and hardship head-on and who possess high levels of discipline. The youth should exude the vitality, enthusiasm and energy needed to ensure Swapo achieves absolute victory in the second phase of the struggle of economic emancipation,” he said.
Geingob also called on SPYL not to abandon the party or its leadership by denouncing them on social media at the first sign of trouble, saying they should stand firm in unity and fight back to defend the ideology of the party.
“We can differ among ourselves on principles or personalities, but when after debate, the party has declared itself on any issue such as who the leadership should be, then we close ranks, present a united front to the world and support the party line,” he noted.
The party and country president further noted that when Swapo was born in 1960, it signified a national mass movement primed for struggle and participation of Namibians from all tribes, backgrounds, race and gender, stressing that therefore revolutionaries cannot and should not tolerate tribal or racial hatred.
Geingob said as a vibrant and effective youth wing, it should be committed to ensuring that Swapo brings shared prosperity and economic emancipation to Namibia, therefore must guard against the ills of tribalism, sexism, racism, xenophobia and unite all young people in Namibia in pursuit of national aspirations.
He further indicated that the party will hold its seventh elective congress to choose the next cohort that will be entrusted with the crucial responsibility of taking the party and Namibia forward, noting that the youth will have a crucial role to play in determining the future of Swapo.
“The future of Namibia and its destiny rest with the young people and depends on the efforts each young person makes through unity for a common goal without strife to build a united front in pursuit of peaceful development and harmony,” said Geingob.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
