Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Maamberua said the high salaries earned by politicians, parastatal chief executive officers and other senior government officials could be helpful in poverty reduction and addressing some of the country's financial challenges.
He said politicians are earning hefty salaries, while many Namibians are out of jobs and living in poverty.
“We need a kind of socialist transformationist revolutionary approach that will be internally derived and sustained. A homegrown initiative that will be sincerely pursued and tailored to the peculiarity that is Namibia,” he said.
The Swanu president also suggested that all government-owned executive jets, including the N$130 million recently purchased one, should be auctioned of before a fourth one is purchased.
Maamberua added that the President should be able to travel in commercial airlines like everyone else.
“If other countries' presidents are doing it, why can't we?” he asked, also calling for the auctioning off of government-owned Mercedez-Benz vehicles because they cost taxpayers a lot of money.
“Government should go for cheaper functional cars, cut all the luxuries in government offices and SOEs,” he demanded.
He also called on the increase in old age pension grants to the equivalent of N$2 200 that war veterans are getting .
“Why is it that war veterans are given higher grants than the elderly?” he asked, saying that nobody should live below the poverty line.
Maamberua also reacted to Prime Minister Hage Geingob's recent comments about certain parties emulating the ruling party for being known as “Swapo of Namibia”.
He said his party had always been registered as “Swanu of Namibia” and did not get that name from Swapo.
Providing proof of the party's registration certificate, Maamberua said his party registered as Swanu of Namibia way back in 1992. He described Geingob's claims as immature.
“During the campaigns, political parties should concentrate on selling their manifestos and not brandishing and characterising other parties in one form or the other,” he said.
Maamberua also called on the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation to introduce live platforms for presidential candidates to debate to enhance the understanding of political party manifestos by the electorate.