Republican Party president Henk Mudge has said if his party is elected to power, they will nationalize mines.
Mudge said this at the party manifesto launch.
Mudge said if his party happens to be in power, they will nationalize every single mine in the country and put an embargo on fishing licenses.
‘’In the RP’s government, we will nationalize all mines in the country. By doing so, we will get money and repay our debts as quickly as possible. To nationalize mines, we are referring to the uranium mines allocated and controlled by the Chinese,’’ he said.
Mudge said they would put the natural resources on tender and embargo all fishing licenses.
‘’We will put an embargo on all fishing licenses being issued to individuals. Some people with fishing licenses don’t know what a fish looks like; we will stop that,’’ he added.
Mudge further added that they believe it will be the best way to generate funds for the government, which will result in the government getting money to develop for repaying loans.
‘’Since independence, Namibia has lost billions of dollars to multinational companies that have exploited our natural resources, leaving the government with minimal revenue. The RP, as the government, plans to nationalize all existing mines and the fishing industry, ensuring that future operations are managed through a tender process. This will allow the Namibian government to maximize income from these resources,’’ he said.
Mudge further said that RP sees water as a scarce and life-important natural resource that should be managed according to strict standards regarding international investments that will influence source water.
He added that his party will push for land reform as land remains a challenge to access in Namibia.
‘’Land should not be a bargaining tool and seen as wealth in itself, but rather as an instrument for wealth creation, using all national resources, with particular reference to mineral, fishing, and agricultural land, which must be utilized productively, wisely, and responsibly.
Mudge added that they will introduce a new and comprehensive Land Reform Policy, which will begin with public consultation with all stakeholders, including farm workers and farmers, as per the official viewpoint on agriculture of the RP as set out in our policy.
‘’People who truly need the land will be placed on a farm, divided into four parts, each with thousands of acres. It has proven impossible for them to make even a subsistence living. What needs to be done is to identify black farmers who have the ability and potential to become successful farmers and then allocate a farm to them,’’ Mudge said.
Dirk Mudge founded the Republican Party in 1977 and joined the DTA in the same year. In mid-2003, the Republican Party, which revived itself as an independent organization.
Before the 2004 parliamentary election, the Republican Party was part of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA).
It was revived as an independent party in 2003, winning 1.9% of popular votes and one National Assembly seat.
Hardap Region Governor Pieter Boltman resigned as party leader, opposing the party’s moves to separate itself from the DTA, in July 2003, and he was succeeded by Henk Mudge, Dirk Mudge’s son.
DTA President Katuutire Kaura denounced the moves to separate the Republican Party from the DTA, saying that Mudge acted unilaterally and illegally. Kaura claimed that Mudge wanted to create a party solely for “previously advantaged” minority Namibians, but Mudge denied that the Republican Party would be a party exclusively for whites.
Mudge was the Republican Party’s candidate in the November 2004 presidential election, receiving 1.95% of the vote and placing sixth. Mudge stood again for the presidency in the 2009 election, gaining 9,425 votes (1.16%) and finishing seventh overall. He was re-elected as the party’s leader in the National Assembly.
In September 2010, the Republican Party was reported to have begun the process of merging with the Rally for Democracy and Progress, the country’s largest opposition party.
Henk Mudge then announced that he would resign from Parliament on October 14, 2010, and confirmed the disbanding of the Republican Party. If he did not resign as a National Assembly member and party president until March 2011, teacher and party chairperson Clara Gowases was appointed in his place and gave her initial speech to the National Assembly in April of that year. According to a later interview with Mudge, some Republican Party members were elected to local councils with RDP support at this time.
The merger plan was revived in 2013 and again early in 2014.
During the 2014 presidential election, Mudge urged party members to vote for Hage Geingob of SWAPO before deciding to stand as a candidate. He received 8,676 votes (0.97%) and finished fifth of nine candidates. The party received 6,099 votes and one seat in the concurrent parliamentary elections. In the 2019 Namibian general election, the RP received 14,546 votes and two seats.
