by Chengetai Madziwa – SANF 05 no 23
Neighbouring countries have commended Namibia for 15 years of independence and a peaceful transition of leadership.
In a tribute to the outgoing President, Sam Nujoma, from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Tanzanian president, Benjamin Mkapa, a member of the current SADC troika, said Nujoma leaves behind “a strong democratic tradition and a country that is at peace with itself and with its neighbours.”
Mkapa recalled the scepticism that surrounded Namibia’s independence 15 years ago, on 21 March 1990.
He also commended Nujoma for stepping down in a timely manner. “You are peacefully leaving office when the people of Namibia still love and respect you. You rightly join the ranks of retired elder African statesmen, and in Africa we love and respect our elders.”
The new president of the normally arid country, Hifikepunye Pohamba, was inaugurated in a ceremony blessed by rainfall and attended by eight SADC heads of state as well as the chairperson of the African Union.
In his inaugural address, Pohamba pledged his commitment to regional development and emphasised the importance of strengthening regional integration in southern Africa. He promised that Namibia will continue to contribute and collaborate actively in SADC programmes.
The 21 March inauguration ceremony was attended by several dignitaries, including Lesotho’s King Letsie III, Swaziland’s King Mswati III, and Presidents Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, Festus Mogae of Botswana, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Zambia’s Levy Mwanawasa, Angola’s Jose Eduardo dos Santos and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, the current chairperson of the African Union.
The former Executive Secretary of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Liberation Committee, retired Brigadier Hashim Mbita, who is now Tanzania’s ambassador to Zimbabwe, also attended the ceremony in Windhoek. The OAU Liberation Committee facilitated the liberation struggle for independence in Namibia and other countries in the region through diplomatic and material support.
Namibia’s new president promised continuity rather than sweeping changes in national policy, and he pledged to fight corruption, poverty, preserve the stability and peace that Namibia is currently enjoying and continue with the policies that have seen the country develop socially and economically.
“We will consolidate the democratic institutions and fight for continued improvement of the betterment of living conditions of Namibians,” Pohamba said in his inauguration address.
Since Namibia gained its independence in 1990, the country has achieved a steady annual economic growth rate of around three percent according to government figures.
Pohamba’s predecessor, Sam Nujoma, is widely respected for his liberation credentials and immense contribution to the development of the country.
Nujoma said on the eve of the inauguration, “The task was not easy, but we have walked a long way since that historic day in 1990. We have established a vibrant democratic dispensation with functioning peace, security as well as fundamental human rights guaranteed by a constitution we have written ourselves.”
President Mugabe who described Nujoma as a revered leader said, “This great man Sam Nujoma, an erstwhile terrorist in quotes, ally, friend, brother, comrade-in-arms, with whom we fought the same struggle against the same system of colonialism or apartheid, is a great man.”
Among other achievements under Nujoma, the government expanded road and communications networks and improved access to reliable water and electricity supply, which is now reaching 80 percent of the population.
Despite these achievements, some challenges remain.
The major task of the new government is to deal with poverty and inequality through solving specific challenges which include declining educational standards, lack of housing, unemployment, income inequalities, gender disparities in positions of power and the HIV and AIDS pandemic.
With notable reorganisation of some portfolios, Pohamba has announced his new cabinet which will continue from the achievements made in the previous government, as well as work on the challenges faced by the country.
Pohamba, the second president of independent Namibia, has effectively eliminated seven ministries and one agency by merging some functions, and has created 10 new ministries and agencies in their place. Six ministries and one agency have also been reorganised.
Among other changes, Pohamba has upgraded gender equality to a full ministry of gender equality and child welfare.
Pohamba has appointed Nahas Angula as Prime Minister and Libertina Amathila as Deputy Prime Minister. Marco Hausiku has retained his position as minister of foreign affairs. The vice president is yet to be announced.
In his congratulatory message to Pohamba, Mbeki said, “I am certain that your election will add impetus to the further consolidation and implementation of the African agenda and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development as part of efforts of the African leadership to push back the frontiers of poverty and under development.”
The inauguration of Pohamba, which coincided with Namibia’s 15th independence anniversary, was an opportunity for the country to reflect on the achievements made in the last one-and-a-half decades, and to look ahead at the future under the new government.
Pohamba was elected in November 2004 representing the ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO). He was the Lands and Resettlement Minister in Nujoma’s government. (SARDC)
