PAUL T. SHIPALE
In one of my articles published online in the Windhoek Observer on Tuesday, 18 March 2025, I attempted to advise President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to adopt a three-pronged strategy in order to achieve economic transformation. In that article I said the key priorities should be: 1- Restructuring and reducing the Cabinet to enhance operational efficiency and accountability; 2-Prioritizing quality over quantity by selecting competent, results-driven individuals for leadership positions and 3- Eliminating bureaucratic inefficiencies to ensure that decision-making and implementation processes are streamlined.
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah wasted no time in stamping her authority on the country’s Executive branch when she unveiled a bold and restructured Cabinet which signalled a shift in governance. In accordance with Article 32 (3) (g) of the Namibian Constitution and guided by the Election Manifesto Implementation Plan, the country’s first female Head of State executed a series of sweeping changes, merging ministries, abolishing redundancies and bringing in fresh faces to key positions.
Her announcement was met with intrigue, anticipation, and in some corners, shock, as she outlined her government’s new blueprint – a leaner and more agile Cabinet meant to curb unnecessary expenditure and enhance efficiency. This approach aligns with her commitment to swiftly implement the SWAPO Party’s Manifesto which is based on clear principles, namely “Unity in Diversity: Natural Resources Beneficiation and Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development” and to ensure that governance is both streamlined and results-driven.
With a restructured Cabinet came a fresh crop of ministers tasked with executing the President’s vision. Former SWAPO Party Youth League secretary Elijah Ngurare was named Prime Minister. Ngurare, who rose from the political ashes after he was expelled from the party in 2015, has bounced back to cement his rise in the government hierarchy.
Among the most striking changes was the realignment of major portfolios. The higher education mandate, together with youth, sport and national services and the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, have been consolidated into one ministry now called the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture. Newly-appointed Minister, Sanet Steenkamp, vowed to tackle all sectors of her ministry.
In my view, the re-alignment of the higher education mandate, together with the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture by consolidating them into one ministry is a good move but I doubt if it was also a good move to add to those two ministries the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service.
In my article I said a smaller Cabinet is widely regarded as more effective than a bloated one. Excessive government structures often lead to inefficiencies, unnecessary bureaucracy, and increased operational costs, all of which hinder service delivery. But here the President seems to have bloated one ministry with unnecessary bureaucracy.
In my opinion, even though the composition of Cabinet and the realignment of the Government is entirely the prerogative of the President, she was supposed to leave the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service as it is and add Arts and Culture plus Vocational Training in order to enhance coordination, strengthen accountability, and direct resources toward one of the key national priorities as contained in the SWAPO Party’s Manifesto, namely; youth empowerment.
I still believe that there is ample time to rectify that by appointing Hon. Emma Kantema-Gaomas, currently serving as a Minister of Gender and Child Welfare, to serve as Minister of Sport, Youth, Arts and Culture and transfer Gender and Child Welfare to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
In another change, the President put Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform. Even though I understand her logic when she merged the two Ministries saying ‘they both deal with food production’, I have my reservations with that merger. The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform was supposed to be a ministry on its own or merged together with Environment, Forestry and Tourism and not with Fisheries.
Fisheries and Marine Resources alone contributes 15 billion to the country’s GDP and is the second-largest foreign currency-earner after mining and employs over 18 000 people. On the other hand, the mining sector is a major driver of the Namibian economy, contributing 14.4% to the country’s GDP and is also a significant employer, directly employing 18,189 people in 2023.
I still believe that the President was supposed to merge Mines, Energy & Fisheries together – Focused on resource beneficiation and employment creation. After all, nowadays both oil drilling and diamond mining activities are taking place in the sea, particularly offshore Namibia, where a unique high-tech marine diamond mining industry has developed in Namibia, making the country the World technological leader in marine diamond mining.
To ensure the co-existence of marine diamond and fishing industries can continue and their environmental impact is kept to a minimum, both industries should be monitored and managed under one ministry. Globally, there are many current examples (United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, to name a few) where marine commercial industries, including seabed mining/dredging, oil and gas, and fishing, have co-existed effectively for many years based on the application of accepted management principles and structures for co-existence.
According to the Chamber of Mines of Namibia, “Marine diamond mining and commercial fishing have co-existed, harmoniously, in the same marine ecosystem for over 25 years with adequate mechanisms in place to monitor, control, and evaluate their impact on the marine environment…,” the Chamber’s article reads.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Trade has been absorbed into the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation, a move the President said is aimed at strengthening Namibia’s economic diplomacy and tapping into the African Continental Free Trade Area. On the economic front, industrialisation has been reassigned to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, a move which ties value-addition directly to the mining sector. Thus, there is now a new ministry called the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Industry managed by Hon. Natangwe Ithete and deputised by Hon. Gaudentia Kröhne.
The question is; what will happen to the country’s small and medium enterprises? What about Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) and where will the investors go for help? Will they also now fall under the Ministry of International Relations or the Ministry of Mines and Energy? I recall when the war in Ukraine started, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, which are involved in the conflict, are key actors in world markets for two product groups critical for African countries: namely; food, mainly cereals and vegetable oils, and fertilizers.
Since African countries are net food and fertilizer importers, the situation continues to raise serious concerns. I vividly remember when there was a lack of sugar in the country and the then Minister of Trade had to look for sugar elsewhere, especially for the brewery industry. Idem for cereals and fertilizers. In my small understanding, ‘Trade’ refers to the exchange of goods or services, while ‘industry’ encompasses the economic activities involved in the production and distribution of those goods and services.
Surely, there is now what we call ‘Trade wars’, a situation in which countries try to damage each other’s trade, typically by the imposition of tariffs or quota restrictions, but I still believe that the Ministry of Trade and Industry was supposed to be an entity on its own to help the small and medium enterprises and to help the country to industrialise, even if managed by Hon. Gaudentia Kröhne instead of us always thinking in terms of cold war rhetoric.
Nevertheless, the idea of trade linked to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not bad at all just like the most unexpected shake-up in labour relations, which has now been placed under the Ministry of Justice. The President said this will ensure better coordination between employment policies and the legal framework governing workers’ rights.
The President also announced that the Marginalized and Disability functions will be placed in the Office of the Vice President to improve national coordination and the new emerging industries of oil and gas need to be managed in the manner that maximize benefits for all Namibians. Therefore, the management of these industries will fall under the Office of the President.
But the question is; who will represent both offices in Parliament given that there is no Minister of Presidential Affairs? When it comes to the budget of the Presidency and issues related to the marginalized and people with disability as well as the new emerging industries of oil and gas, I guess the Prime Minister will have to stand in for the Presidency in Parliament. In any case what remains to be seen is how all this will unfold and work. After all the President said the Government is tasked to enhance food security in the country, improve the health of our people, deliver affordable housing, quality education and create job opportunities for thousands of unemployed Namibians. Equally, the Government has to implement targeted interventions in the priority sectors of agriculture, mining, tourism, sports, creative industries, among others, to accelerate the socio- economic development of our country. The question is; why do the priority sectors not have their own ministries for targeted interventions?
On the other hand, even though with a restructured Cabinet came a fresh crop of technocrats and experienced ministers tasked with executing the President’s vision, much remains to be seen how these appointments will play out on the political front, especially in both the Politburo and the Central Committee of the ruling party, when some heavy weights in those structures, including former ministers, governors, regional coordinators, secretaries of the wings of the party and others, are not part of the Cabinet, even those who were vigorously campaigning for the party to win the November elections.
There is also the element of ethnic and gender balancing in the top echelons of the government. Indeed, one has to carefully consider all ethnic groups so that no one should feel left out. Let’s bear in mind that Damaras are not Namas, just like Ovaherero are not OvaMbanderu and Subia people are not Mafwes, OvaKwangali are not Mbukushus, OvaMbunza are not Shambyus nor Gcirikus and AaNdonga, AaNgandjera, AaMbalantu and other Ovawambo ethnic groups are not AaKwambi and AaKwanyama.
We all remember an incident which occurred at a meeting convened at Chief Mamili’s khuta at Chincimani on 15 April 2015 regarding Sikanjabuka – an ethnic powderkeg that has in the past sparked tribal tensions in the Zambezi Region because both Chief Mamili and his subjects insisted it falls under his jurisdiction. On the other hand Chief Kisco Liswani III of the Masubia and his khuta vehemently disputed Chief Mamili’s claim saying Sikanjabuka has since time immemorial been under the jurisdiction of the Bukalo khuta. Indeed, Sikanjabuka is about ten kilometres south-east of Bukalo and is surrounded by fertile farmland and is also close to one of the fishing camps that have arguably one of the best fish reserves in the Zambezi Region. Bukalo is also a village in Namibia. It lies in the Zambezi Region 43 kilometres from the region’s capital, Katima Mulilo. It is also the Royal Headquarters of the Subia people. It is not difficult to find villagers in Sikanjabuka district with an ethnic allegiance split between the two contending khutas.
Surely, it should not be about tribalism as we are all Namibians united under the motto of ONE NAMIBIA, ONE NATION! In her inaugural speech, the President said as elected leaders, the Government has an immense responsibility to ensure that it consolidates democracy, peace, stability and good governance in the country, as well as to expedite the delivery of quality public services to all Namibians, irrespective of race, ethnic origin or political affiliation. All in all, I very much welcome the appointment of younger ministers and experienced technocrats, especially the Minister of Finance and Social Grants Management, Hon. Erica Shafudah as she brings to her portfolio a wealth of experience. Most importantly, I applaud the newly appointed Prime Minister, Dr Tjitunga Elijah Ngurare as he embodies the spirit of renewal and regeneration symbolised by a phoenix rising from the ashes.
As the story goes, the phoenix is a mythical bird with fiery plumage that lives up to 100 years. Near the end of its life, it settles into its nest of twigs which then burns ferociously, reducing bird and nest to ashes. And from those ashes, a fledgling phoenix rises – renewed and reborn. Thus, this is a mythical golden bird associated with renewal and rising from the ashes of its previous life to symbolize hope and better things to come, born from the knowledge and experience of difficult times and challenging circumstances.
The appointment of Dr. Ngurare as Prime Minister is a welcome and long overdue strategic move or what I call a political coup de grâce. Despite the onslaught he faced, including his removal from various boards of SWAPO companies to being elbowed from a NamWater board position, Dr Ngurare hardly spoke ill about his comrades and remained unwavering or ‘ndjikiti’ as he likes to say.
In a keynote speech on Saturday, 19 October 2024, at the occasion of a SWAPO Party Mini Rally at Samora Machel District of the Khomas Region, Dr Tjitunga Elijah Ngurare delivered a message of hope and reminded me of the seminal novel by Charles Dickens titled; A Tale of Two Cities. This is not necessarily because the Samora Machel Constituency forms part of the formerly marginalised communities as opposed to their affluent neighbours on the other side of the City but because of the stark dichotomy that permeates the narrative of the rich and the poor in the Capital City and throughout the country.
This dichotomy is seen in Dickens’s iconic opening line with an array of paradoxes that capture the turbulence of an era when he says; “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”
In his statement Dr Ngurare said “There must be hope for our people everywhere including those in the informal settlements such as One Nation or Tlabanello No.3 here in Windhoek, Choto in Zambezi Region, Sauyema in Kavango East Region, Ekutu lyatika in Erongo Region, Area 7 in //Karas Region and/or Epako in Omaheke Region. The SWAPO Party Election Manifesto 2025-2030 is pregnant with hope. ”Who else than Dr Ngurare could deliver such a message of hope to the downtrodden? It is against this background that the phrase “Phoenix rising from the ashes” popped into my head when I heard that he was appointed as the new Prime Minister.
It was Fritz Williams who once said “suffering and joy teach us, if we allow them, how to make the leap of empathy, which transports us into the soul and heart of another person. In those transparent moments we know other people’s joys and sorrows, and we care about their concerns as if they were our own.” This is how both Dr Ngurare and President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah have shown empathy for the downtrodden as they know their pain and suffering. Indeed, life presents us with some challenging circumstances that leave us just hanging on until sanity returns when we can look out with fresh eyes and see that the fog has lifted, and the dark clouds have moved on.
Thus, both President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and Prime Minister Dr Tjitunga Elijah Ngurare, announced their political comeback like phoenixes rising from the ashes and are committed and determined to make Namibia the best place for one to live in. I wholeheartedly congratulate both leaders and wish them all the best in their endeavours. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of my employer and this newspaper but solely my personal views as a citizen.
