Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said on Wednesday that economic emancipation is the country’s new national struggle, urging citizens to unite against poverty, unemployment, inequality and corruption.

Ms Nandi-Ndaitwah said this while addressing a Heroes’ Day ceremony at Heroes’ Acre in Windhoek marking the 60th anniversary of the start of Namibia’s armed liberation struggle.

The president said the country had achieved political freedom and sovereignty but must now improve the material conditions of its people.

“36 years after independence, ours is the struggle for economic emancipation,” she said, calling for Namibia’s natural resources to be used to improve the well-being of its citizens.

She identified poverty, youth unemployment, inequality, corruption, institutional inefficiency, hunger, and homelessness as major challenges facing the current generation.

Ms Nandi-Ndaitwah said her administration’s development agenda, outlined in the Sixth National Development Plan, prioritises natural resource beneficiation, value addition and youth empowerment.

“We cannot sustain ourselves on past glory alone. We honour the past most meaningfully when we build on what those before us sacrificed to achieve,” she said.

The president also paid tribute to those who sacrificed their lives during Namibia’s liberation struggle and urged Namibians to build a country where peace is protected, integrity is upheld and prosperity becomes a reality for all citizens.

Heroes’ Day, observed annually on August 26, commemorates the 1966 Battle of ”Omugulugwombashe”, which marked the beginning of Namibia’s armed liberation struggle against South African apartheid rule.
(NAN)