Namibia in 2015

Namibia in 2015 The year saw the ascendancy of the new Head of State Hage Geingob, perhaps the last member of the first generation of the former liberation movement SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organisation). He took over from Hifikepunye Pohamba, who was for his two terms in office awarded the Mo Ibrahim Prize for good governance. Geingob introduced several institutional innovations and expanded the senior level of the administration. This increased government expenditure and added to the growing fiscal stress. The economic fragility was also exacerbated by global economic volatil- ity and other negative factors. Despite the limitations of the prom- ised prosperity under Geingob, SWAPO further extended its political hegemony through regional and local elections in November. With hardly any opposition remaining in both national chambers and on regional and local authority levels, Namibian democracy de facto was dependent on one party. In terms of its foreign policy, Namibia clearly continued to turn more to the East and announced its planned withdrawal from the ICC. Domestic Politics President-elect Hage Geingob had already taken several initiatives before his swearing in on 21 March. On 2 February, a presidential council was announced, composed of Geingob and his two prede- cessors, the previous prime ministers and their deputies. Nickey Iyambo was appointed as Namibia’s first vice president. He had served in all cabinets over the previous 25 years and was the lon- gest-serving minister of the first generation of post-Independence politicians. Among the eight additional MPs appointed with non- voting rights by the president were Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana and Jerry Ekandjo, the two internal party nominees for president who © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2�16 | doi 1�.1163/9789004321571_014 Namibia In 2015 163 had lost to Geingob. He also resuscitated the fading political careers of Minister of Presidential Affairs Albert Kawana and Governor of the Hardap region Katrina Hanse-Himarwa as members of ‘Team Hage’. The former deputy speaker and retired bishop Zephania Kameeta, also from the party’s old guard, was brought back to take specific responsibility for the newly created portfolio of poverty eradication and social welfare. The new cabinet was announced on 19 March. Four new ministries were created and seven portfolios were renamed. The top-heavy executive structure seemed to repre- sent an effort to reconcile internal party divisions and to secure loyalty. In particular, the expansion of the second-tier level of deputy ministers from 18 to 32 was most likely aimed at inclusivity. Added to the 28 cabinet members, this meant that almost 60% of all MPs were top government officials and led to an estimated 30% increase in the cost of government from N$ 50 m under the Pohamba administration to N$ 65 m. This generosity was widely considered a strate- gic investment in internal party stability to anchor Geingob’s office as president in structures that create loyalty among the beneficia- ries. Geingob also recruited several high-paid advisors to the Office of the President, whom he originally called the ‘A-team’, leaving the media and wider public wondering what role the ministers were supposed to play. Amidst controversies as to the procedure and in a reportedly tense atmosphere, retired head of state Hifikepunye Pohamba in a surprise move handed over the party presidency to Geingob at a SWAPO central committee meeting on 18 April – well ahead of the scheduled elections at the next party congress in 2017. The politburo rejected Geingob’s proposal that he be replaced as the party’s vice president by a trusted office holder, and so he now held both party offices and the state presidency, which gave him a strong advantage over potential contenders for the next round of leadership contests in both the party and the state. The president’s first State of the Nation Address, given in parlia- ment on 21 April showed a clear shift in language from the hitherto .

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