Latest news with #SouthWestAfricaPeople'sOrganisation
Bloomberg
22-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Namibia's New President Names Witbooi as Deputy, Trims Cabinet
Namibia's President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah appointed long-serving lawmaker Lucia Witbooi as her deputy as she unveiled a streamlined cabinet, consolidating key ministries and placing oil and gas oversight under her own office. Witbooi, 64, a former deputy minister, previously worked in education and home affairs before rising through the ranks of the ruling South West Africa People's Organisation, or Swapo. She becomes the second woman to hold the vice presidency in the southern African country, which is on the verge of an oil boom but which faces significant economic challenges, including a 37% unemployment rate.
Roya News
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Roya News
Namibia welcomes first female president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah
Namibia has officially welcomed its first female head of state, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who was sworn in on Friday. She commented on her position during an interview with BBC's Africa Daily podcast, stating, "If things go well then it will be seen as a good example. But if anything then happens, like it can happen in any administration under men, there are also those who would rather say: 'Look at women!'" The 72-year-old politician secured victory in the November elections with 58 percent of the votes. She has been a devoted member of the South West Africa People's Organisation (Swapo), the ruling party since Namibia gained independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990. Nandi-Ndaitwah joined Swapo at the young age of 14, when it was still a liberation movement opposing the white-minority rule in South Africa. Despite the progress made by Swapo, the remnants of apartheid continue to impact wealth distribution and land ownership patterns in Namibia. "Truly, land is a serious problem in this country," she acknowledged ahead of her inauguration. "We still have some white citizens and more particularly the absent land owners who are occupying the land." As Namibia's new leader, Nandi-Ndaitwah aspires to be evaluated on her accomplishments. "It is a good thing that we as countries are realizing that just as men [can do], women can also hold the position of authority," she asserted, positioning herself as a role model for future generations of female leaders.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Namibia swears in first female president
Namibia's new president was sworn in on Friday to lead a country facing high rates of unemployment, inequality and poverty. And she will be dealing with it with the additional burden of being only Africa's second-ever directly elected female president and Namibia's first female head of state. "If things go well then it will be seen as a good example," Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah told BBC's Africa Daily podcast. "But if anything then happens, like it can happen in any administration under men, there are also those who would rather say: 'Look at women!'" The 72-year-old won November's election with a 58% share of the vote. Nandi-Ndaitwah has been a long-term loyalist of the South West Africa People's Organisation (Swapo) – which has been in power since the country gained independence in 1990 after a long struggle against apartheid South Africa. She joined Swapo, then a liberation movement resisting South Africa's white-minority rule, when she was only 14. While the party has made changes and improved the lives of the black majority, the legacy of apartheid can still be seen in patterns of wealth and land ownership. "Truly, land is a serious problem in this country," she told the BBC ahead of the inauguration. "We still have some white citizens and more particularly the absent land owners who are occupying the land." From freedom fighter to Namibia's first female president LISTEN: Africa Daily's interview with Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah She adds that she is committed to the "willing-buyer, willing-seller" principle, which means no-one is forced to sell up. Namibia is a geographically large country with a small population of three million. Government statistics show that white farmers own about 70% of the country's farmland. A total of 53,773 Namibians identified as white in the 2023 census, representing 1.8% of the country's population. Namibia is one of the world's most unequal countries, with a Gini coefficient of 59.1 in 2015, according to the World Bank, which projects poverty is expected to remain high at 17.2% in 2024. The unemployment rate rose to 36.9% in 2023 from 33.4% in 2018, according to the country's statistics agency. Nandi-Ndaitwah said the economy, which partly relies on mineral exports, should work more on adding value to what the country extracts from the ground rather than exporting raw materials. She also wants Namibia to focus more on creative industries and get the education sector to adjust to new economic realities. Nandi-Ndaitwah is only the second African woman to be directly elected as president, after Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The continent's only other female president at the moment is Tanzania's Samia Suluhu Hassan, who took up the role after her predecessor died in office in 2021. Nandi-Ndaitwah wants to be judged on her merits, but she said that it was a "good thing that we as countries are realising that just as men [can do], women can also hold the position of authority". Sam Nujoma: The revolutionary leader who liberated Namibia 'I would prefer to die than see my traditions die out' Should Namibian town scrap German name? Namibia turns the visa tables on Western nations Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Namibia inaugurates first female president
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was inaugurated as president of Namibia on Friday, making history as the country's first female head of state. The 72-year-old former vice president, sworn in on the nation's 35th Independence Day, joins an exclusive club: The only other serving female president on the continent is Tanzania's Samia Suluhu Hassan. And Nandi-Ndaitwah is one of only five women in Africa that have risen to presidential power through direct election. A handful of others have served as acting or interim presidents during periods of transition. Nandi-Ndaitwah is a 'trusted leader' and 'party stalwart,' noted the BBC. She joined the ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) party aged just 14, when it was still a liberation movement, undergoing arrest, detention, and later exile in the fight for independence, which Namibia finally won from apartheid South Africa in 1990. 'I am there to serve the people of Namibia,' she said on Wednesday, as reported in The Namibian. 'I am prepared.'
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'End of era' for Africa as Namibia buries founding father
Namibia's founding father Sam Nujoma was "a giant among leaders" and left behind "the most precious gift of… freedom", the country's President, Nangolo Mbumba, has said. He was speaking in front of the large crowd at Heroes' Acre, where the country's most revered citizens are buried, before Nujoma was laid to rest in a mausoleum. The leader of Namibia's independence struggle against apartheid South Africa died last month at the age of 95. Nujoma was seen as the last of a generation of African figures who headed anti-colonial movements and fought for freedom. "Therefore his departure signals an end of an era, a founding father of Africa," President Mbumba said in an earlier speech at a national memorial service on Friday. "We are not only mourning today, we are celebrating an extraordinary leader who has contributed significantly to our country's independence, who will continue to inspire us for many more years to come," Namibian Given Shiyukifein told the Reuters news agency. The revolutionary leader who liberated Namibia On Saturday, Nujoma's coffin, draped in the Namibian flag, was driven by a military gun carriage from the centre of the capital, Windhoek, where the body was lying in state, to the burial ground on the outskirts of the city. Mourners had been arriving since the early hours, the independent Namibian newspaper reported. It added that they waved flags and sang songs in his memory, including Sam Ouli Peni? (Sam, Where are you?) – a popular anthem from the period after independence in 1990. Among the dignitaries present were the presidents of neighbouring countries Angola, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Nujoma, one of 10 children from a peasant family, was working on the railway in the late 1940s when he got a political education. He developed a passion for politics and yearned to see his people free from the injustice and indignity of colonialism. He led the long fight for freedom from South Africa, which was then under white-minority rule, and helped found the liberation movement known as the South West Africa People's Organisation (Swapo) in the 1960s. As the country's first president – a position he held for 15 years until 2005 - Nujoma is widely credited for ensuring peace and stability. His policy of national reconciliation encouraged the country's white community to remain, and they still play a major role in farming and other sectors of the economy. He also championed the rights of women and children, including making fathers pay for the maintenance of children born out of wedlock. Namibia, then known as South West Africa, was under German occupation from 1884 until 1915, when Germany lost its colony in World War One. It then fell under the rule of white South Africa, which extended its racist laws to the country, denying black Namibians any political rights, as well as restricting social and economic freedoms. The introduction of sweeping apartheid legislation led to a guerrilla war of independence breaking out in 1966. Namibia turns the visa tables on Western nations Why voters fall out of love with liberation movements Germany officially recognises colonial-era Namibia genocide Germany returns skulls of Namibian genocide victims A quick guide to Namibia Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
