Advice To The President On His New Cabinet

Advice To The President On His New Cabinet

By: CHRISTOF MALETSKY

JUST when we thought that political campaigns were over, they started afresh. The only difference is that this time around it is in Swapo and has to do with appointments to the new Cabinet.

Nowadays the phrase on the lips of most senior Swapo politicians: “did you get called?”. They are asking one another whether President Hifikepunye Pohamba had called them to State House to discuss a possible appointment.
I have also been waiting for a call from President Pohamba! Mine was to become a one-day consultant to advise him on how to go about compiling his new team. For some reason it didn’t happen and time is running out!
I have thus taken the liberty to use my pen (sorry, computer) to write down a few notes I want the newspaper vendor to deliver at the doors of the new State House.
Initially I compiled a whole list of Cabinet ministers and deputies but realised that people started ‘leaking’ President Pohamba’s lists in the hope of stirring public debate.
Why can’t they just release theirs like Paul Shipale – a regular contributor to a local daily?
Anyway, the next five years will be the last for President Pohamba at the helm and he needs to really make his mark.
That means he will have to be very straight and tell some of his current crop of ministers that they have failed to deliver and need to step aside.
We desperately need new and good blood in our political system. I mean people with not only talent and energy but also moral integrity. A good mix of experience and young blood is what we now need.
From the current crop, Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila and Dr Abraham Iyambo are the youngest, but both protégés of former President Sam Nujoma. They are also the only ones under the age of 50.
Pohamba has yet to unleash any one of Swapo’s ‘generation next’ and this year is his last opportunity.
Due to time and space I will limit my input to certain key ministries and probably the boldest moves.
First it’s important to point out that since Independence the size of our Cabinet has increased from 22 to 26 in 2005.
Japan runs the world’s second largest economy with just 28 ministers.
Your best administrators are supposed to be in the civil service, not in Cabinet.
As a starter my Prime Minister would be Abraham Iyambo. Recently I had the opportunity to listen to him addressing a group of young people. He revealed how he administered Swapo Youth League and even disciplined older comrades “for the sake of Namibia”.
I got the impression that he will be a brave young man who will not stand back at the challenge of taking the Namibian public service back to where it started out.
Having said that, I initially wanted Hage Geingob, and was not going to take kindly to him telling me that he prefers to stay at Trade. It’s about who can do the work best and I still think he is the first candidate.
For Pohamba to leave with a bang, he needs to create the position of Executive Minister in his office and move Geingob there.
It will not be a token job but he will work very closely with the Prime Minister to set the agenda and transform the Party’s manifesto into workable Government policies.
It means the two will have a very clear mandate and set targets which need to be reviewed on an annual basis.
Iyambo will be deputised by Marco Hausiku and I have shifted the current Prime Minister to the position of Foreign Affairs Minister.
Theo-Ben Gurirab is a diplomat and the ideal scenario would have been to move him back to Foreign Affairs.
However, someone whispered to me that one of the undertakings Namibia made when Gurirab was nominated for the presidency of the International Parliament Union was that he would serve the whole term. Doreen Sioka will remain the deputy.
That is why Nahas Angula must go to Foreign Affairs and teach diplomats with the ever-diplomatic Elia Kaiyamo as deputy.
I had Martin Shalli at defence even before opposition filed their papers to challenge the election results. Therefore, I am not copying anyone there. His deputy should be former Plan fighter Kazenambo Kazenambo.
I would also like to give Dr Becky Ndjoze-Ojo (another presidential nominee) a shot at Education while former teacher Isak Katali and Dr David Namwandi would be her deputies. Katali is for basic education and Namwandi for higher education.
We will have a new Finance Minister in Tom Alweendo, deputised by Bernhardt Esau, while Kuugongelwa-Amadhila will be in charge of the Trade Ministry. Her negotiation skills came through very clearly when she was still at the National Planning Commission and we can utilise them well to bring in investment and trade deals.
I don’t think Dr Boniface Mutumba will mind if we appoint him as Deputy Minister of Trade.
I have merged the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry with Lands and Resettlement with Sakkie Coetzee from the Namibia Agriculture Union as head.
As a balancing act I will have the young and vibrant Peya Mushelenga as deputy in charge of lands and resettlement while Evelyne Nawases-Kayele will be head of water and forestry.
Charles Namoloh will move to Safety and Security and will be accompanied by Tommy Nambahu while John Mutorwa and Lempy Lucas will be in charge of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism as Minister and Deputy Minister.
I have merged the Ministry of Mines and Energy with Labour. Veteran politician Ben Amathila will head the ministry and have two deputies in Sylvia Makgone (Mines and Energy) and Alpheus Muheua (Labour).
The same goes for the Ministry of Minister of Health and Gender Equality. I opted to retain Dr Richard Kamwi as Minister but with Petrina Haingura (Health) and Priscilla Beukes (Gender Equality).
Loide Kasingo must try to improve matters at the Ministry of Home Affairs, while Alpheus Naruseb gets Works and Transport deputised by Petrus Iilonga.
Joel Kaapanda gets Youth and Sport but will have two deputies in Clive Willemse (Youth) and Pohamba Shifeta (Sport). Willemse is a presidential nominee and has established himself in working with the youth at community level.
Justice will have a new Minister in Utoni Nujoma (do I have a choice!) and he will be deputised by Chief Samuel Ankama.
I opted for Tjekero Tweya at Fisheries with former Governor Billy Mwaningange as his deputy.
The Director General of the National Planning Commission will be Nangolo Mbumba.
The last Ministry will be that of Regional, Local Government and Housing with Jerry Ekandjo and Erastus Uutoni as his deputy.
The Attorney General will become a full-fledged office at Cabinet level with Albert Kawana in charge.
The implementation of the August 2002 Swapo congress resolution on the effective functioning of the party secretariat is long overdue. It was passed when President Hifikepunye Pohamba was still the Secretary General. Thus the party’s Secretary General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana will be full-time at the head office.
The Ministry of Information will become a department in the Office of the President.
There you have it, the Cabinet I would have proposed to President Pohamba had I been his advisor. Unfortunately, I am not.

* This article first appeared in The Namibian