EDITORIAL: Nandi-Ndaitwah’s moment of truth
President-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is putting the final touches on her Cabinet, and this time, the stakes could not be higher. With two former ministers behind bars on charges of grand corruption, Namibians are not merely curious with excitement – they are anxious. Many see this Cabinet as the last realistic opportunity for a nation clinging to their last hopes by fingernails.
The world has moved on, and so must Namibia. War credentials and liberation struggle tales, which have become the chronic definition of our Cabinet appointments, have become relics of a past that no longer serves the pressing needs of the present.
Reports that Nandi-Ndaitwah is considering technocrats and fresh faces from outside the current parliamentary list are like a breath of fresh air.
It suggests that she understands the urgency of the moment – that this is no time for appeasing old comrades with little to offer but nostalgia. The next five years must be about competence, transparency and the hard work of dragging the country out of its economic and political malaise.
However, this pivot towards technocratic governance also lays bare a damning truth: Swapo’s long-standing failure to cultivate new leadership. Sam Nujoma was the last leader to actively scout for and nurture young, dynamic leaders who could carry the torch forward. Since then, the party has failed to refresh its ranks, leaving a glaring vacuum where the next generation of leaders should be.
Nandi-Ndaitwah now faces a defining choice – between a Cabinet that represents the past and one that embodies the promise of the future. The nation watches closely, hoping that this moment will mark the dawn of a new era, not just another chapter of recycled promises. For the sake of Namibia’s future, may she choose wisely.
The world has moved on, and so must Namibia. War credentials and liberation struggle tales, which have become the chronic definition of our Cabinet appointments, have become relics of a past that no longer serves the pressing needs of the present.
Reports that Nandi-Ndaitwah is considering technocrats and fresh faces from outside the current parliamentary list are like a breath of fresh air.
It suggests that she understands the urgency of the moment – that this is no time for appeasing old comrades with little to offer but nostalgia. The next five years must be about competence, transparency and the hard work of dragging the country out of its economic and political malaise.
However, this pivot towards technocratic governance also lays bare a damning truth: Swapo’s long-standing failure to cultivate new leadership. Sam Nujoma was the last leader to actively scout for and nurture young, dynamic leaders who could carry the torch forward. Since then, the party has failed to refresh its ranks, leaving a glaring vacuum where the next generation of leaders should be.
Nandi-Ndaitwah now faces a defining choice – between a Cabinet that represents the past and one that embodies the promise of the future. The nation watches closely, hoping that this moment will mark the dawn of a new era, not just another chapter of recycled promises. For the sake of Namibia’s future, may she choose wisely.
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Namibian Sun
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