Ester Mbathera
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has told her new Cabinet there will be no room for delays or inaction in her administration.
She made the statement during the first Cabinet meeting of the 8th Administration held in Windhoek on Tuesday.
“This is not a time for complacency and procrastination. Decisions taken must be implemented without any delay. Delays in the implementation of decisions taken will not be accepted,” she said.
She reminded ministers that the nation expects improved service delivery and the faster implementation of government programs.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said a monitoring dashboard will be used to track progress on all projects.
Cabinet members will also be evaluated every three months based on their performance indicators.
“For those of you who may not yet be aware of our commitments, you must apprise and acquaint yourselves with the SWAPO Party Election Manifesto and its Implementation Plan, which will serve as your key reference materials in the next five years,” she said.
She warned that she expects work to start immediately, and she will not accept excuses.
“We must hit the ground running to fulfil the mandate the people have bestowed on us. We are not setting up the government. We are entering offices that have been running for years. We should therefore build on those foundations we found there,” she said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah told ministers that all public servants must uphold high ethical standards and provide services fairly and on time.
She added that laws which prevent ministers from carrying out their work must be reviewed and amended by the end of May 2025.
“Should there be any law or instruments that made it difficult for ministers to assist officials to execute their duties as expected, I direct the Prime Minister to be assisted by the Minister of Justice and AG to amend those laws and instruments by the end of May this year,” she said.
She urged cabinet members to work freely, serve the public equally, and resist any form of favouritism or outside influence.
“There is no room for favouritism or any undue influence, be it from the investors, citizens or external forces, in exchange for service delivery. Your duty is to serve the citizens, investors and visitors timeously and equally,” she said.
Political analyst Henning Melber said Nandi-Ndaitwah’s first address to her Cabinet was largely expected as a standard outline of governance principles.
“ It offers nothing spectacular, which would deviate from earlier general declared ethics. What is interesting is the reference to a seemingly stricter performance evaluation also through a dashboard and the repeated emphasis that there should be no business as usual,” he said.
According to Melber, these points reinforce the image of Nandi-Ndaitwah as someone who wants to take a tougher stance on corruption and improve how the government operates.
“To that extent, the president reaffirms the impression that she enters office as a new broom, which also will clean the public affairs from corruption and favouritism. As so often, we have to wait and see to what extent and how strictly such declared aims and promises will be implemented,” said Melber.
He also pointed out an early sign of adjustment on one of the key pledges.
“One deviation seems already to emerge: while the President stresses that the pledges in the Swapo election manifesto remain a binding commitment, the ambitious number of employment opportunities to be created and NNN’s own even higher numbers during the election campaign seem to have already been adjusted downward. Again: one needs to wait and see how this plays out,” he said.
Political analyst Marius Kudumo added that Nandi-Ndaitwah’s message reflects a focus on performance monitoring and clear targets.
He said what matters now is whether the president will follow through on her commitments.
“What we are expecting to see is consequent leadership. Thus, whether the President will act when Cabinet Ministers do not perform according to her expectations and when they do not meet set and expected ethical and moral standards of the servants of all Namibians,” he said.
Political analyst Sakaria Johannes says Nandi-Ndaitwah’s address is promising and focused on implementation, but the real test lies in delivery.
“The word that caught my attention there is implementation,” he said.
Johannes also welcomed the president’s plan to monitor her Cabinet and track progress using a dashboard.
“We are now going to see if there will be results, if she will really do what she’s saying,” he said.
He added that the nation wants to see action, not just speeches.
“We should not be interested in the document. We are interested in the action and the delivery of what is written in the document,” he said.
