Reasoning behind Namibian President`s new cabinet appointments

IN Namibia appointments are usually made without citizens understanding the reasons why they are made. No plausible explanations are provided as to why a particular individual has been given a certain assignments and if that person has the requisite qualifications to occupy the position.

The ‘independent media’ is a lazy culprit since it does not even have time to analyse appointments and inform citizens about the qualities and the qualifications individuals bring to the offices they hold. In the Government-owned media, including our NBC, political analysts would argue that it is the prerogative of the President to make appointments the way he sees fit. Appointments are not argued by this talented crop as a governance issue deserving further probing and critical analysis on the part of the discerning public.

Last week President Pohamba announced two new additions to his Cabinet: Tom Alweendo as Director General of the National Planning Commission and Lucas Hangula as Director General of Intelligence. President Pohamba’s choice in getting Tom Alweendo in Cabinet is an exciting development. The same applies to Kazenambo Kazenambo’s appointment at Youth, Culture and Sport, including the all-too important appointment of Dr Abraham Iyambo at Education. Government and cabinet in particular must be renewed with individuals who can bring new ways of thinking and methods to the governing process. Therefore Alweendo must not become embedded in existing methods.

He must bring his depth and independence as a former governor of the central bank to this process. Kazenambo for his part must not only bring activism and clarity to what was a neglected, but albeit crucial portfolio – importantly he must articulate his sense of justice in the manner in which Cabinet discussions are framed. But my main worry is more about the reasoning behind the non-voting six in parliament.

While I applaud the appointment of Tom Alweendo at the NPC, I am baffled as to why Dr Peter Katjavivi was not given another assignment in Cabinet. And this begs the question as to how President Pohamba reasons in his choices. What are the impulses behind Pohamba’s appointments? When President Pohamba requested Katjavivi to return from Germany as Ambassador and take over at the NPC, my assumption was that the President had clear strategic deliverables in mind at an institution deserving stability. Similarly, my assumption was that Katjavivi functioning outside parliament displayed a purely meritocratic and technocratic appointment. And by all accounts, Katjavivi acquitted himself very well at the NPC. Therefore, the exclusion of his skills from what is clearly a transitional Cabinet is mind-boggling.

Dr Katjavivi is a senior Swapo leader. If Pohamba wanted a senior Swapo politician to become a parliamentary backbencher for whatever reasons, he ought to have logically included Katjavivi among his ten names at the Swapo party electoral convention late last year. I thought that he would do so since Katjavivi was not in the party electoral pool. Alas, it didn’t happen. Shockingly, he chose to bring in Katjavivi through the small gate as part of a coterie of individuals who make up the ‘non-voting bloc’ of Parliament. Senior Swapo leaders like Katjavivi should not enter parliament through the small gate, but the non-voting six should rather be the preserve of the pointless ethnic balancing of individuals from the south on the one hand and the inclusion of promising young Namibians with outstanding skills on the other. If Pohamba chooses to bring senior leaders through this gate, he must use their skills intelligently in one or the other domain.

Second, I am baffled why the President went to look for new unknown village-based or town community activists in the South to include in the non-voting six if he could have brought back Marlene Mungunda and other visible national leaders from these communities. It will take years for these unknown leaders to claim legitimacy in Swapo and they are unlikely to make the next parliamentary list of the party in 2014. If the strategy is based on inclusion, the President ought to have opted for highly skilled individuals from the South who can defend and articulate the interests of their respective communities meaningfully.

It is despicable for people in the South to know that the only people who can speak for them in the executive and legislature are former kindergarten teachers, while doctorates, medical doctors and lawyers represent other communities. The timid option of choosing individuals who can’t craft a voice in national politics is less than helpful. After all, some of the most prolific Ministers, including Abraham Iyambo, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila and Albert Kawana came into the executive through the alternative door and given their skills, managed to consolidate national profiles. This method must be applied to the South as well. Get outstanding skills from the South!

The point I seek to emphasize in the main is that President Pohamba’s method brings less clarity and certainty to the governance process. Similarly, it is a method that does not render itself to logical governance explanations. It does not consolidate a sustainable process of inclusive and strategic governance. The challenge for President Pohamba is to think through the full spectrum of his decisions before he makes appointments. It is perhaps time that he includes more individuals in the appointment process.

* Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari is a PhD fellow in political science at the University of Paris- Panthéon Sorbonne, France.

Credit: www.namibian.com.na