Nandi-Ndaitwah: The next president?

The country has entered the month in which we are to elect the next president of our republic.Since 1989, we have pledged to, through universal suffrage, change leadership in conformity with our supreme law and not the court or the barrel of the gun. Many political parties have fielded candidates, or what some may regard as such, but who could not muster the organisational wherewithal to legitimise their candidacy. With several entrenched structural challenges and a citizenry getting short on patience, my paper intends to focus on the competency of the frontrunner, and I posit the most capable of all, H.E. Netumbo Ndemupelila Nandi-Ndaitwah (N to the power of four).Netumbo, as she is affectionately known, was born in Onamutai in the Oshana Region. As a daughter of a pastor, she learned at an early age to shun injustice and to love her neighbours as the source would have intended. She joined Swapo in 1966 and very soon became the chairperson of the Swapo Youth League. Her involvement in politics increased her prosecution by the illegitimate authorities of the time, resulting in her detention in Grootfontein. She left in 1974 until her return in 1989.Of all the candidates, Netumbo’s devotion to an enduring partnership uniquely demonstrates the importance of family. She has been married to Lieutenant General Epafras Denga Ndaitwah since 1983, a person with impeccable credentials of his own. Denga, as he is affectionately known by his peers, is battle tested as a former PLAN fighter. He retired with full military honours. The Ndaitwah couple thus stands apart as having never wavered in their level of service to the Namibian people, having fought for, liberated and established the necessary institutions of an independent Namibia. They both represent that important link between the past, present and the critical need to endow the future with the promise Namibia’s independence held for all of us.Leading the wayAfter independence, Netumbo was appointed as the first female deputy minister of foreign affairs.After being elected as the first female deputy secretary general of the ruling party, she was appointed the first director general (DG) of women affairs in the office of the founding president in 1996.As DG, she set up the first ministry dealing with women affairs and child welfare and became its first female minister in 2000 until 2005. Having started from zero, she propelled women's issues onto the national agenda along with strong advocacy for the grant for vulnerable children.In 2005, Netumbo was appointed the first female minister of information. During her tenure, she launched what would become known as the Cabinet Briefing, the interaction of government with the citizenry.In 2010, Netumbo was appointed the first female minister of wildlife, conservation, and tourism. Under her tenure, the country started to reap the benefits of tourism, with the sector contributing 12% of the GDP and entrenching economic rights and benefits for rural communities through conservancies, leading to a boom in community tourism.Netumbo then became the first female minister of international relations. As minister, she ensured resource mobilisation for the country during the Covid pandemic. She canvassed support from a variety of countries across ideological lines, putting national interest above pyrrhic dogma. Her plan also included drawing on historic relations to have a contingent of Cuban doctors attend to the shortage of medical personnel, effectively responding to the emergency.Netumbo became the first female vice president of the Swapo Party. In 2017, I wrote that during this time, together with Sophia Nahango Shaningwa – a lethal combination – they secured the victory of the late president and ensured the unity of the party while serving with poise and patience during politically trying times.After being nominated as the first female presidential candidate of the ruling party, Netumbo re-energised and revitalised the grassroots veins of the party. Acknowledging the grassroots origin of the party, she placed emphasis on the bottom-up approach to interactions, mostly impromptu, on the outskirts of small towns, churches and traditional authorities – all on an equal footing – thereby reinforcing the heritage of Swapo, borne of transformational partnerships among churches, traditional authorities, youth, labour, and community actors.High standardsWith the untimely departure of late president Geingob, Netumbo became the first female vice president of our republic.It is clear from the above that Netumbo is a person of many firsts amongst women. History has it that one does not get accorded so many firsts unless you succeed first.Deducing from her past achievements and contemporary public utterances, Netumbo’s administration would be keen on prioritising ethical service and maximum equitable and inclusive benefit to all the inhabitants. It can thus be universally held that Netumbo is the embodiment of the highest standard of ethical, patient, considered and accommodative leadership. Her calm demeanour and a sense of deep listening should in no way be construed as being a pushover. Believe me, Netumbo can be a stern pragmatist. Our challenges as a country require maturity and acute emotional intelligence.Hailing from a big family, she is well-equipped to harness our diversity to rekindle that grand vision and the aspirations upon which our country was founded. Netumbo’s leadership embodies hope and focuses on what matters most: people. Whatever our differences, the love of family should lead us all back home. Her earnest understanding of our democratic ethos and deep empathy for Namibians from all walks of life make her the steady hand ready to make our resources work for us. Netumbo is good at drawing connections between issues where other people might miss them, leading to more holistic and sustainable solutions, and her ability to remember people very well hints at her people-centred ethos.In 2002, during an interview with Gretchen Bauer, Netumbo, not knowing the future, said: “I cannot tell you when, but definitely... it will come... [and] I just know that one day Namibia will have a woman president."In 2017, Insight Namibia magazine posed the question: 'Ndaitwah...the next president?' We have a generational mission to answer that question in the affirmative on 27 November, to allow Ndemupelila to pave the way to a Namibia that speaks to our social needs and meets our welfare expectations. *Joshua Razikua Kaumbi is a holder of a BA in political science and sociology (Unam), an LLB (Stellenbosch), and an admitted legal practitioner. His opinions are expressed in his capacity as a Namibian by birth.#NamibiaDecides2024

Nandi-Ndaitwah: The next president?

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Namibian Sun 2025-01-27

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Nandi-Ndaitwah: The next president?

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Namibian Sun 2025-01-27

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