The President of Namibia, Sam Nujoma, has been sworn in for a third term of office.

Mr Nujoma took his oath before a large cheering crowd which had gathered in Windhoek's Independence stadium to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the country's independence.

The colourful celebrations included a march-past by the army, the police and prison officers, plus a 21-gun salute.

The guests of honour included the Presidents of South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana and Swaziland.

Also present were former South African President, Nelson Mandela, and former Finnish President, Martti Ahtisaari, who was once the United Nations' special representative for Nambia.

Target 2030

In his speech, President Nujoma promised to create a standard of living comparable to that of the developed world by the year 2030.

"The main objectives over the next five years for my government will be to accelerate the process of job creation by increasing support for small and medium scale enterprises. In this way, 50,000 jobs will be created over the next five years," he said.

Mr Nujoma - who is 70 years old - won 77% of the vote in last December's controversial elections.

Against the objections of the opposition, the constitution had been amended to allow him to run for a third term.

The president's party, the South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO,) won 76% of the parliamentary seats.

The president acknowledged that there were tough challenges ahead.

"Despite the success that we have scored, our country is still faced by many challenges. HIV/AIDS continues to rob us of our talented young and old citizens alike," he said.

He said his government would work to increase awareness about HIV/AIDS.

A 22-member cabinet, including the prime minister, Hage Geingob, was also sworn in.