Opinions

The recent reshuffling of executive directors across several Namibian ministries, as announced by the secretary to the cabinet, has once again brought to the surface a structural ambiguity that has lingered within Namibia’s public administration since independence. While ministerial reshuffles are an accepted and indeed necessary feature of democratic governance, the frequent movement of executive directors raises a more profound institutional question: are executive directors political functionaries, or are they senior technocrats entrusted with the long-term administrative and developmental health of the state? After almost thirty-six years of independence, this question should no longer be unresolved. From both an academic…

PAUL T. SHIPALE (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar) When writing refuses to be silent  Amílcar Cabral warned that the hardest battle is against our own weaknesses. We heard him. And we wrote. This year, our writing did not seek approval. It demanded accountability. Political liberation is not automatic emancipation. It is not an excuse for mediocrity. The greatest danger in liberation struggles is not only external it is within us. In the weakness that trades principles for power. In memory weaponized as a political shield. In comfort chosen over the discipline required. Here, memory is not shelter. It…

Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro Stay positive! A message from a good long-time friend. Actually a granny, mother, sister, niece, and cousin all rolled into one sounded Yours Truly out on a Sunday morning on the last Sunday of 2026 preceding Christmas.  Was it just a Sunday morning remembrance salutation filled with the usual profoundness of love, or did it have a ring of reflection, and on what? The message could not but get me indeed reflecting deeply. Especially given the season of the times when we are not only readying for the typical season of capitalist decadence and opulence, hailed as Xmas,…