IPC link a concoction by jealous detractors – Ndapuka
We don't discriminate, says business owner
Ndapuka blasted those who claim he does not own his transport company and that he is only a front for politicians who run it.
Transport businessman Silas Ndapuka has reacted angrily to widely circulating messages suggesting that he was one of the funders of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), saying the claim is a lie manufactured by his detractors and business rivals.
A liberation struggle veteran who spent eight years in exile, Ndapuka suspects the rumour originates from the fact that his company has provided transport services to IPC and other political parties, who fully paid for services rendered.
“I am in the transport business and whoever can pay for our services is welcome to approach us. We will not discriminate against anyone on the basis of their political affiliation,” he told Namibian Sun.
“Transport is the only business I know – and I think I’ve been very successful. This success is from us providing services to all Namibians. We will continue on the same trajectory.”
Ndapuka, who was targeted for assassination by agents of the apartheid regime before fleeing into Angola to join the liberation struggle, added: “I was jailed for six months by the boers for providing transport and other kinds of assistance to Swapo soldiers, especially those who operated in the Ongandjera area”.
Questioning my loyalty
The 77-year-old affirmed his loyalty to Swapo, which itself owns a bus transport company, Namib Contract Haulage. “Swapo is the only party I’ve known. Even if one day Swapo no longer exists, I would have no reason to join another party. So, it’s offensive to question my loyalty to Swapo, but I will do business with anyone who needs our service”.
Ndapuka also blasted those who claim he does not own his transport company and that he is only a front for politicians who run it.
“I am hands-on, and when people see me at the loading zone with a book and pen – sometimes in the rain – they claim that I am an errand boy for politicians. In this circulating message about IPC, they claim my company is owned by Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana. I want to make it categorically clear that I am 100% the owner of my buses. I don’t even have a minority partner,” he said.
“In the past, others claimed that my company is owned by Libertina Amathila. It’s laughable. I started this business when I returned from exile and bought a car that Swapo was selling for N$80 000 at the time. That’s how I got into this business, and I haven’t looked back since.
“People must work hard instead of spending their time manufacturing lies out of jealousy,” he added.
In 2022, Namibian Sun reported that Ndapuka’s first job as a young man was when he worked for a German farmer in Maltahöhe as a sheep herder, earning 25 cents a month. He went on to become the most successful black transport businessman in the country.
A liberation struggle veteran who spent eight years in exile, Ndapuka suspects the rumour originates from the fact that his company has provided transport services to IPC and other political parties, who fully paid for services rendered.
“I am in the transport business and whoever can pay for our services is welcome to approach us. We will not discriminate against anyone on the basis of their political affiliation,” he told Namibian Sun.
“Transport is the only business I know – and I think I’ve been very successful. This success is from us providing services to all Namibians. We will continue on the same trajectory.”
Ndapuka, who was targeted for assassination by agents of the apartheid regime before fleeing into Angola to join the liberation struggle, added: “I was jailed for six months by the boers for providing transport and other kinds of assistance to Swapo soldiers, especially those who operated in the Ongandjera area”.
Questioning my loyalty
The 77-year-old affirmed his loyalty to Swapo, which itself owns a bus transport company, Namib Contract Haulage. “Swapo is the only party I’ve known. Even if one day Swapo no longer exists, I would have no reason to join another party. So, it’s offensive to question my loyalty to Swapo, but I will do business with anyone who needs our service”.
Ndapuka also blasted those who claim he does not own his transport company and that he is only a front for politicians who run it.
“I am hands-on, and when people see me at the loading zone with a book and pen – sometimes in the rain – they claim that I am an errand boy for politicians. In this circulating message about IPC, they claim my company is owned by Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana. I want to make it categorically clear that I am 100% the owner of my buses. I don’t even have a minority partner,” he said.
“In the past, others claimed that my company is owned by Libertina Amathila. It’s laughable. I started this business when I returned from exile and bought a car that Swapo was selling for N$80 000 at the time. That’s how I got into this business, and I haven’t looked back since.
“People must work hard instead of spending their time manufacturing lies out of jealousy,” he added.
In 2022, Namibian Sun reported that Ndapuka’s first job as a young man was when he worked for a German farmer in Maltahöhe as a sheep herder, earning 25 cents a month. He went on to become the most successful black transport businessman in the country.
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