Nearly 70% of Cabinet ‘gone’

The outcome of the weekend’s Swapo electoral college, announced late yesterday, shows that Cabinet could lose up to 68% of its current members if Swapo retains power after the November election. However, this number could become smaller if, in the event of a Swapo victory, some of the incumbent ministers are retained as part of the president’s list of eight non-voting members that are constitutionally appointed to the National Assembly.Another way to reduce the number of exits is if Swapo regains its two-thirds majority by a number much more significant than the current 63 seats the party occupies in that house of parliament.Some of the current ministers have already indicated their intention to leave and did not stand for parliament. They are Calle Schlettwein (agriculture), Albert Kawana (home affairs), Doreen Sioka (gender equality), John Mutorwa (works) and Agnes Tjongarero (sport).Divine interventionBut there are also those who simply did not make the cut, and who may need divine intervention to secure a spot in parliament. They are Christine /Hoebes (presidential affairs), Anna Nghipondoka (education), Yvonne Dausab (justice), Utoni Nujoma (labour) and Erastus Uutoni (urban and rural development), as well as National Planning Commission director-general Obeth Kandjoze.Health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula did not avail himself for election.The ministers who did avail themselves have either been voted out of the 96-member list, or they were simply too far down to realistically make it to parliament – given Swapo’s recent dwindling support. This is particularly so if the party’s current 63 seats are used as a benchmark.Those hanging onto their spots by their fingernails include /Hoebes, Nghipondoka and Nujoma, who ended up at 85th, 119th and 124th respectively.With President Nangolo Mbumba expected to leave after his successor is sworn in, and given the death of late president Hage Geingob in February, Cabinet faces a near overhaul come March 2025. Bleak futureSeveral deputy ministers are also facing a bleak future, having ended beyond the 63 benchmark. These include Verna Sinimbo (trade), Veikko Nekundi (works), Maureen Hinda-Mbuende (finance) and Anna Shiweda (agriculture). The fate of deputy ministers Sylvia Makgone (fisheries), Natalia ǀGoagoses (higher education), Hafeni Ndemula (labour) and Kornelia Shilunga (mines) also remains fuzzy.Out of eight nominees appointed to parliament by Geingob for his second term of office in March 2020, only Ipumbu Shiimi (ranked sixth), Emma Theofelus (ninth) and Emma Kantema-Gaomas (21st) have realistic chances of going to parliament if Swapo retains its current number of seats.The other Geingob nominees at the time were Dausab, ǀGoagoses, Shangula, Nekundi and Peter Vilho. Vilho was fired in 2021, while Nekundi is ranked 74th on the list released yesterday.Cream of the cropInformation and communication technology deputy minister Modestus Amutse topped the men’s list with 171 votes, while former Lüderitz mayor Hilaria Mukapuli topped the women&#039;s list with 179 – the highest votes obtained by a single individual at the convention.Swapo vice-president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who is the de facto party leader after Geingob’s death, has appointed 10 people to the parliamentary list – as per the party’s constitution. She struck a reconciliatory chord by adding his 2022 congress rival Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila to her list. Swapo Party Youth League leader Ephraim Nekongo is also on the list, as is former lands minister Alpheus !Naruseb, who was facing an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) regarding how the son of late former minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa acquired a resettlement farm in the Hardap Region. It is not clear whether he is still on the ACC’s radar regarding the matter.Also making the list is agriculture deputy executive director Dr Elijah Ngurare, as well as business executive and banker Dino Ballotti. Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) secretary-general Fenny Tutjavi (22) also made the list, as did youth ministry executive director Erastus Haitengela. Completing the list are Indileni Daniel, Ruth Maseke and Linda Mbwale.

Nearly 70% of Cabinet ‘gone’

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-22

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Nearly 70% of Cabinet ‘gone’

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-22

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